


Wings Of Time

by KashedPrince



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, Gen, I may add a friend's OC, I think Zeke is kinda cool, Multi, OC personalities are literally our real personalities, Some weird shit is gonna happen, and hot asf, but so can kashmir, i hate myself sometimes, idk - Freeform, kashmir is really rude, ok, ok ill stop, seisko can be a jerk, that's later in the story though rip, time travel is great, what, why am i still here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-24 10:33:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9719150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KashedPrince/pseuds/KashedPrince
Summary: Two twins are sent back in time after experiencing a wind storm, only to find out that their new lives are placed on the set of one of their most favored animes: Attack On Titan.Kashmir, along with her best friend, Seisko, who is her twin in their present times, must figure out why and how they got sent into a manga/anime series and what to expect now that they know what will happen to each and every character they will encounter.Can they keep the secret of being time travelers, or must they reveal all they know if they wish to protect those who will fall to tragedies?





	1. Kashmir

**Author's Note:**

> New Note : Ok, so now that I have my own account, this story will continue here and hopefully updated chapters will be added quicker than they were before, but I'm also really excited to work on my other stories, too, so chapters may get delayed. 
> 
> Old Note : Hey, Hi, This is Seisko's twin sister in real life, Kashmir. I also go by the username Kashed( or Kash)Prince, or PrinceGod or other sites.  
> This is a story I've been working on for a while now. I have tons of other stories that I have been writing since the 7th grade and I'm a college student now. Yes, I am sharing Sei's account, since we generally share everything to save time from me having to create my account or be invited by the site.  
> Like I said, I have a TON of stories that I've been writing for years, so expect them to show up as new works in the later future, once I edit them and rewrite some one them, so they won't have a billion grammar errors and it won't look like a 5 year old wrote them.  
> Anyway, this is my most recent story and I'm liking it the most right now, so I'm going to be writing more chapters and updating this story while Sei updates her Shingeki No High School book.  
> Again, I'm probably gonna add some of my old stories as new works on here. I'm excited to get them published after so many years of figuring out whether I wanted to post them to Fanfiction or not.  
> OH!  
> Seisko did have a Fanfiction, but I don't remember it. It had some of my old stories posted on their, but I don't think I'll ever take those stories and put them on here. They were too old to try and post them here. I don't even think I have the original notebook that held them anymore. Rip  
> Anyway, Sorry for the long intro, but I hope you enjoy!  
> And if there is anything you wanna ask me or tell me, I'm more than happy to listen. :)

 

It was windy; almost to the point where I thought my bedroom window was seconds from caving in. It was **that** windy.

 

I tried to ignore it, but the whistle-like sound was worrying me; besides the fact that it seemed to get colder and colder with each passing minute. I snuggled deeper into my blankets, but that only made me feel colder, as if my blankets were nothing but thin sheets of paper. I took the chance to sit up and look through the blinds of my window and noticed it was a clear and starry night. So, why so windy? I mentally shrugged before laying back down and trying to get some more sleep through the howling wind and my constant shivering.

 

Suddenly, a bright light shone through my eye lids, forcing me to crack them open a bit to find the source. The light was unnaturally bright against my window. I guessed it was the headlights of a passing car, but the light never faded away, but instead, grew brighter in intensity, causing me to shield my eyes. As I did so, a loud ringing noise hit my ears, leaving me partially deaf as it got louder; fear crawling through my chest, my heart palpitating. As I gripped my chest, I lowered the hand guarding my eyes to notice everything covered in the white light. I stuck a hand out in front of me and noticed that I could still see it, but not anything else. I pinched myself, hoping this was just another nightmare. But damn, this wasn't just going to be a plain ol' nightmare. I sat there, too shocked to scream, my throat closing up from the growing fear creeping along my spine. Ya know, I was never one to scream when scared, 'cause I never wanted to alarm anyone- God, I'm weak-

Then, as I thought this couldn't get any worse, my bed seemed to drop right out from underneath me. That's when I screamed. I was falling and I knew that if this wasn't a dream, I was going to fall to my death. No sooner than when I began to fall, I hit what felt like a bed and blacked out from the force of my head hitting the somehow stiff pillows.

 

* * *

 

The first thing I noticed was how loud the birds were, wondering if they were actually inside my room. I rolled over, deciding to ignore them. Why lose some minutes of rest to some loud birds? My eyes cracked open and I slowly sat up, remembering what had happened only a few short hours ago, since it was morning now. I inhaled deeply as I took in my surroundings. Apparently, I was suddenly laying in a wooden-like bed with the hardest mattress and pillows in the world. The room was a dark, dusty, brown color; a wooden stool was placed in front of a desk, a mirror sitting perched on top. A flower crown lay next to a brush in front of the mirror; a small lamp stood on a tiny post next to my bed. A white drawer stood in front of my bed, a few clothes spilling out. My blankets were a soft, light, coffee color, my pillows were the same. A few stuffed animals sat at the foot of my bed, staring at me with their black, beady eyes. A white bear with blue jewels for eyes caught my attention and I leaned over to grab and inspect it, when a knock sounded at the door, startling me. I sat there, staring at my door, eyes going wide as it opened.

 

A woman entered, her brown-ginger hair swaying as she waltzed in, her full, red lips curving into a smile. "You're actually up early today?" She said, coming closer to sit at the edge of my bed, hands elegantly placed on her lap. Her eyes were hazel, almost the color of wheat. She had a nice figure, like she could be a model, though she looked to be around her mid thirties, maybe early forties.

 

I faked a smile, unsure of who this woman was and didn't want to give the impression of being rude since she spoke to me. I didn't say anything, not really sure how to respond to that.

 

She smiled even more, showing her perfectly placed and white teeth. " Breakfast is ready when you are, sweetie." She leaned forward and kissed my forehead, her lips cool to the touch as she got up, leaving my door open as she exited.

 

I was confused as hell. _Who was this woman? Why does she know who I am? Where am I?_

 

I glanced back at the odd teddy bear before shoving my blankets aside. As I stood up, I stretched, enjoying the sounds my body made as I walked towards the door, only to backtrack and rush to the mirror. My eyes widened and I tentatively touched my face. My hair was a reddish brown, falling across my back, hair tangled and frizzed in different areas. My eyes were a vibrant green, like the leaves on a tree in spring. My lips were a deep pink, like I had a permanent sheen of lip gloss on. I stood up straight, my body a curvaceous form, like I exercised on a daily basis. My breasts were still as small as they were originally, before that nightmare happened.

 

_That's right.._

 

Whatever happened that night transported me from my original body into this girl's body. Whoever's body I was in, it looked like they were only 15 or 16. I suddenly got the urge to pee, so I decided to check out this new body again later as I exited the room, not even bothering to brush my tangled hair. I cautiously made my way down a hallway, spotting what looked to be a bathroom to my right and entered. There was a washing area, and a spout that looked like a shower head, but in its earlier stages. I spotted a toilet that looked half metal half brass and stepped up to it. I went ahead and emptied my bladder, grabbing the equivalent to toilet paper and wiping myself down. I saw something that reminded me of a lamp's plug, so I pulled it. Happy that it was the toilet's flusher mechanism. I washed my hands, wiping them against a red towel before exiting. I heard voices coming from downstairs, so I took each step as if I was an old lady, not sure of what'd I see when I got to the last step. The house was nice, mind you, but it was still strange to be in some stranger's house. I got to the last step and turned into an area that was, of course, the kitchen.

 

As I entered, a rather handsome man with nicely groomed brown hair and a freshly cute face greeted me with a pleasant smile; he also looked to be in his mid thirties or early forties. "Good morning, Kashmir." He had some wonderful dark green eyes-

 

_Wait._

 

What did he just call me? Kashmir? That's the name of my AoT OC, how the heck does this guy- I figured it out. I knew something was off when I looked in the mirror. The similarities were not normal, then he has the gall to call me Kashmir? I sat down beside him, forcing a smile in his direction, my thoughts going haywire. I was in my OC's body as living, breathing, human being. These people must be her parents, though, I never got to the point of actually creating parents for her. Was Seisko here, too? Seisko was my twin sister's OC. I wondered if she got transported here too, as my 'mom' handed me my plate full of breakfast foods. I loved food and everything dealing with food, so I shoved those mind boggling thoughts behind me and dug in. It's been awhile since I've had a proper breakfast like this, so it was heaven to my mouth.

 

Once I was done, I stood up and placed my dish in the sink, washing it, then washing the others that happened to be in there, much to my 'mother's' amusement.

 

"Actually doing chores, eh?" My 'dad' snorted. I just blinked at him as he folded his newspaper, sipping his coffee. What? Did Kashmir not do chores like a normal teen? In my real body, I did chores like I was some kind of house maid, everyday.

 

'Dad' then looked at what must have been some kind of old watch on his wrist before standing up with a gusty sigh. He gave 'mom' a kiss before ruffling my already disastrous hair. "I'll see you two after work." 'Mom' walked him to the front door, both still saying their farewells as I finished up the dishes.

 

She turned to me when I got done wiping the soap from my hands. "I'm going to do a little house cleaning, you should be getting ready to head back to the barracks."

 

_Barracks? The hell was she talking about?_

 

I must have had a bewildered look on my face because she then rolled her eyes. "Really, did you bump your head last night? You've been acting like you have amnesia."

 

I simply shrugged. "Weird dream last night." Was all I could say. It was obviously a lie, but I wasn't about to ask her why I'm suddenly in another person's body, let alone my own OC's. Then, she'd really think I had amnesia, or was going insane.

 

She looked a bit concerned before replying. "You've got maybe two more days with us before you go back to the 104th."

 

I blanched. _The fuck?_

 

I felt the need to sit down and gather my thoughts, so I pulled out one of the dining room chairs and sat down, messing with my hair. My mom panted my back before grabbing a broom out of the nearest closet and disappearing around a corner. I've suddenly been transported into the body of Kashmir, a random original character that wasn't even in the the original show or manga and now I realized what that meant. I'm gonna have to fight titans? **REAL** titans?

 

I want to go back to sleep.


	2. Freckled Jesus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Old Notes : Now that Kashmir knows what's up, let's get to the exciting training, yeah?

 

The two days I had left to enjoy my new parents' presences flew by rather quickly. One minute, I'm enjoying their odd humor, and the next thing I know, I'm standing outside, waiting for the carriage that would pick up the people going back to the training barracks. I was wearing a white collared shirt and khaki pants, the normal attire for being in the military. As it came into my sights, I turned around, smiling as my mother wrapped me in her arms. She kissed my cheek and I did the same, turning to my father, who looked worried.

 

"You sure you're going to be fine?" He spoke, gripping my shoulders.

 

I nodded excitedly. "Yeah." That was all I could get out before I heard the horses come to a stop, people boarding the now still carriage.

 

My mom wrapped her arms around dad's waist, his arm coming to rest on her shoulder as I waved goodbye, hopping into the back of the carriage. I noticed with a twitch of my eye that it was only young teens getting in, dragging their luggage on board. Mom made me pack extra clothes and dried foods, so my bag was on the over-packed side. I wasn't gonna start complaining as I took a seat near where I had entered. As I sat there, waiting for everyone to board, I noticed a dark skinned girl, about Kashmir's age sit close by and I couldn't help but stare. She was wearing a white collared shirt like was, except the buttons went all the way down her shirt and she had a blue bow tied around her neck. She also was wearing glasses, much like the ones in our real time, though when I arrived here, Kashmir didn't own any. It was weird to be looking at the world clearly without glasses since I've worn glasses since I was real young. As she turned to face me, I'm sure we both had a similar look of recognition written on our faces. I took the chance to say the name that was dangling from the tip of my tongue.

 

"Seisko?"

 

Her eyes lit up in surprise and she leaned forward. "K-Kashmir?" She spoke warily.

 

Before she could say any more, I lunged forward, grabbing her in a tight embrace; her large breasts took up half the hugging space, but she hugged me back just as tightly. Once we pulled away from one another, Seisko began to ramble on about how we got here, what happened that night during the wind storm, how we had different parents, and how we are going to keep up with in the training corps; 104th to be exact. Apparently, we arrived in this world about a month away from graduation. I felt nervous, scared and excited all at once. Nervous for the training. What if I don't know how to balance myself on the wires? I did just hop into Kashmir's body only a few days ago, and everyone's already talking about graduation. Scared for all the titans I'll eventually have to fight later, as I've read in the manga. Excited for all the adventures that I'll be having trying to save those who died in the original script.

 

_Marco._

 

There was no way I was going to let him die again, now that I'm here.

 

Hopefully, I get assigned to his squad once the titan-killing starts. The only problem was how I was going to save him. Reiner was honestly a scary guy. There was no way I was gonna fight him in hand to hand combat. Maybe I could get Seisko to keep Marco away long enough so that I could approach Reiner and Bertholdt instead of him. Yeah.. I'll do that. So long as I don't die in the process, all is good.

 

Before we knew it, Seisko and I had reached the barracks, the carriage lurching forward as it came to a stop. She grabbed her things and hopped off rather quickly. I stumbled after her, yanking my luggage behind me. As we stood there, staring, we took in our surroundings and all the familiar faces. I couldn't help but make a happy noise and nudge Seisko as we headed towards the entrance. She gave me smile and we headed past the open doors. There was already a gathering of people in the mess hall, so we headed over, staying in the back since Seisko didn't like big crowds. I felt myself getting even more excited as I saw Keith Shadis, his voice bellowing as loud as if he were speaking through a microphone. It looked and sounded like he was giving a prep talk, mentioning something about training later in the day.

 

"So, I hope you all didn't slack off too much during your vacation because these exercises are gonna burn like hell in the morning!"

 

Honestly, that's exactly what I did. Seisko must have done the same because she looked at me with a sad look, and I returned it. Thank god her OC didn't have the disease that plagued her in our original bodies.* With that said, we were ushered to our dorm rooms; of course, my body led me to our shared room, even though my mind didn't know where I was headed. Seisko walked beside me still rambling on about how she is glad her body can do exercises again, and how she was going to end up hitting on some of the boys. She was particularly fond of Jean, so I knew who she'd head for first once training starts. The door was closed to our dorm so I opened it and instantly regretted it. Dust literally flew out at us and I fell into a sneezing frenzy, taking a few steps away from the door to catch my breath.

 

"Looks like your allergies followed you here." Seisko joked. I sighed, I really wish they hadn't...

 

Seisko then disappeared inside, and I reluctantly followed her inside. It looked like a dust storm had happened inside the place. I set my stuff down on a bunk-bed that actually had my named etched on the head board, probably from a pencil. As I stared at the crappy etching, a few more girls entered behind me, going to their bunks. I recognized a few of them, Christa and Ymir were close together already, dropping their stuff down on their shared bunks. Seisko placed her things on the top bunk and looked around. I followed her gaze as she spotted a collection of cleaning supplies. It looked as if they had been placed there hours before we all arrived. I grabbed the broom that was leaning next to what looked like a bottle of Windex. As I swept around, more girls came in and I spotted Mikasa and Sasha, Sasha eating what looked like dried meat; it could have been a tough bit of tree root for all I know. I felt like a God knowing everything about them and what they were going to experience in the days to come. I continued to sweep since the others took the rest of the cleaning supplies; sweeping the dust out of the room and into the hallway. I mean there was no where else for it to go. How the hell did it get this dusty anyway? From what I heard, we've only been on vacation for maybe half a month, so how could the room look like a sandstorm blew through? That just pissed me off just a little-

 

I was looking down as I swept so the first thing I saw was a pair of brown boots stepping on the dust I had swept out into the hallway. I looked up into the eyes of a rather tall man. He was wearing the training jacket that seemed similar to Keith's coat, just shorter. He had dusty brown hair and brown eyes, and quite the build-

 

"Are you done cleaning yet?" He spoke, abruptly breaking my train of thoughts. His voice was a nice kind of deep, not too deep and not too soft.

 

I glanced behind me and noticed that no one was cleaning anymore. Most of them were chilling on their bunks, chatting softly. Seisko was already having a nice chat with Mikasa, and I envied her instantly. While I'm over here working their busy chatting away-

 

"Yeah, I suppose." I sighed, letting the broom lean against the door frame and turned back to man. He was looking into the room as if sharing my thoughts.

 

"Well, instructor Shadis wants everyone to report to the training grounds in twenty minutes-," He then snorts. "You probably have about ten minutes now." And with that, he walked away, probably to relay the message to the other rooms.

 

I immediately turned around and waltzed right in the middle of the room where a circular rug lay. "Sorry to interrupt your conversations," I spoke, quieting the others. "But one of the trainers just announced that we have ten minutes to report to the training grounds." Before I had finished the sentence, the girls all scattered, quickly changing into their clothes, pulling the straps tightly around them and slinging their jackets on as they swarmed out of the room. I magically followed suit, the straps easily around wrapped around my frame, the jacket around my arms. Seisko walked out ahead of me and I power-walked to catch up.

 

"Remember when it took you three hours to get my straps on?" I said, breathlessly. Seisko smiled beside, letting out a quick laugh as we marched out onto the field. It was huge and many cadets littered it, all standing in rows, their hands behind their backs. Excitement is all I felt as I fell in a line, standing with my legs slightly parted and my hands behind my back. I wanted to know who I was in a row with, so I side glanced to my left and felt my heart flutter out of my chest. Standing beside me was none other than the freckled lord himself. I just stared at him, hoping I was being too obnoxious and obvious. He side glanced at me, and I instantly looked away. That was embarrassing as hell. He let out a soft noise beside me and I looked back at him. He had a smile on his lips, his freckles shaping into a heart. Then I noticed something else: he had dimples.

 

_Godforsaken dimples._

 

In that moment, I knew I wanted to marry this boy.

 

It didn't take long for Instructor Shadis to appear, his long coat brushing up dust as he walked. His sunken eyes scanned the clearing as if daring us to move a single inch. I was frozen, of course, but I still looked around, wondering if Seisko was close by. And there she was, standing in the same row as Sasha. She was a little bit behind me so I knew she saw me when I looked back at her. She gave me a small smile before tilting her head for me to face forward again. As I did, I noticed Shadis was now walking down my row, everyone flinching slightly away from him as he passed. He stopped in front of someone and just stared. I tilted my head to see who had caused him to take interest and noticed, with a small laugh, that it was Jean. He was standing there, looking down, his hands twitching behind his back. Shadis just stood there, until he leaned foward and Jean instinctively brought his hand to his head as if to protect it. So I guess he already got headbutted before our vacation. I couldn't help the smile that graced my lips. I couldn't get it to go away either as Shadis passed a now sweating Marco and stopped. I looked up and to my displeasure, he had stopped in front of me. Sunken eyes staring holes into my face. Of course, I'm a natural born rebel, so I stared back, my smile disappearing.

 

"Something funny, cadet?" His voice was so gruff. It kinda hurt my head.

 

I shook my head, still looking him in the eye. "No, Sir!" It was like a mini staring contest, except for the fact that my dumbass kept blinking. I blamed it on the wind; it was blowing dust right into my eyes. I jumped as Shadis laid a hand on my shoulder and squeezed rather hard. I winced, instinctively attempting to pull my shoulder away, much to his annoyance. He gripped me hard and I suddenly couldn't help but voice my discomfort.

 

"Can you, like, not do that, please?" I instantly hated myself. Shadis eyes seemed to widen and mine did too. The clearing seemed to get extremely quiet as all eyes fell on me. I could feel Marco and Jean shuffling beside me as if they wanted to run far away from this confrontation. Suddenly, Shadis released his grip and I sighed in content a little too soon as he suddenly leaned forward, his face a little too close for comfort.

 

"Hm? Could you say that again? I didn't catch that."

 

_**Bro.** _

 

I kept my mouth shut, not sure if I really wanted to repeat what I said. I looked away, my hands clamped tightly behind me as he finally leaned back. I almost let out a breath of relief as he seemed to be turning away from me; yet, that wasn't the case. I hit the ground with a grunt, holding my now sore forehead. My vision swam and I could feel a wetness behind my eyes. Off to the side, I could hear someone gasp and I knew Seisko wasn't going to let this slide, but I also knew that she wouldn't outright attack Shadis. I did speak out of turn.

 

I angrily sniffed, trying my hardest not to cry. He headbutted me! What kind of guy just headbutts a child-

 

"Hopefully you don't keep that attitude past graduation if you wish to join any regiment." Shadis growled out, his boots kicking up dust as he stalked away.

 

I sat up still holding my bruised head with one hand, the other propping me up. He must have hit me hard; my vision was still blurry and I had a throbbing headache. I finally got to my feet, knees wobbling, and I could feel myself falling back down, only to feel hands grip onto my left arm. I looked up and locked eyes with Marco. He had a sympathetic look as he held me up until I could stand on my own.

 

"Thanks." I slurred out, my mouth felt heavy as hell.

 

He simply smiled as Shadis yelled out something that sounded like we were to get into groups. I wanted to group with Seisko, since we were still getting used to all this, but fate has to be cruel and I ended up with Marco, much to my delight, Bertholdt, who looked like he might sweat all seventy percent of his body water right off of him, and Mina, a little angel.

 

Honestly, they all looked like kicked puppies.

 

"So," I said, still trying to shake the headache off. "What are we supposed to do?"

 

"Hand to hand combat." Mina spoke. "Hopefully the boys don't go too easy on us, right?" She looked in Marco and Bertholdt's direction, both looking uncomfortable.

 

Finally, I was able to see clearly and nodded. "This should be fun. Who wants to go first?"

 

Mina skipped to stand beside me. "Let's double team the guys." She entwined her arm with mine and smiled mischievously. "Shadis said that the groups will have two boys and two girls. The four in the group must split into two and have a small match between themselves. Whichever team gets the most hits, the points are added to our final grade." She explained, tightening her hold on me.

 

She sure had a tight grip.

 

I looked at the boys, noticing how different they were, yet they were both cinnamon rolls, in my opinion.

 

Mina let go of me and took a stance, her hands coming up to guard her face. I analyzed her position and got into one of my own stances. My feet spread apart and my fists coming up to protect my already damaged head. Marco and Bert took a few paces away from us before taking up their own battle crouches. I didn't want to tussle with my freckled savior, so I turned to Bert, letting myself get angry over the fact that he didn't kill Marco, but he watched it all happen. Also, he even thought that humanity was the bad guys all thanks to that asshole, Zeke. Oh boy, when I find where he is I'm gonna-

 

"Kashmir, look out!"

 

I barely had a millisecond to react as Bert charged me, long legs bringing him to me in a matter of seconds. I backed up and brought my fists up, crossing my arms into an X as he swung an arm my way. The force of the impact nearly threw me backwards, but I dug my heels in. My knees nearly gave out, I gritted my teeth and shoved back, Bert's arm swinging wide as he stumbled back. I saw my opening and took it, whipping my arm back and lugging it at Bert's chest. I heard him grunt heavily as he continued to back away, using an arm to rub the area. I inwardly whooped with joy. That's for breaking the wall years ago, I thought bitterly. I lunged forward, ready to plant another hit on him when something slammed into me from my right side. I landed rather hard on the ground, my ears ringing. I quickly looked up, annoyed at whoever just destroyed my opportunity to defeat Bert and was even more annoyed at the sight of Reiner. His broad chest bulged out as he stared down at me before turning to Bert.

 

"You alright?" His deep voice instantly pissed me off.

 

Beside him, Bert nodded, still rubbing his chest. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in teams.."

 

Reiner snorted, sticking his nose in the air. "Ha, it was easy to defeat Eren once I figured out his fighting style. My group is done, so the Instructor let us go check out the other groups."

 

"Yeah," I spoke up as I stood up, dusting my clothes off. "Check out the other groups, not intervene, you giant rock."

 

The blond headed oaf just snorted again and shrugged his shoulders. I clenched my fists and opened my mouth to usher a retort, words gushing out like rushing water. "At least I'm not liar, playing with others' hearts and minds." I instantly felt excited as Reiner furrowed his brows in confusion before realizing what I really meant. Yeah I know your secret, buddy ol' pal. He took a step towards me, but a grunt from behind stole my attention. As I glanced back, I saw Mina hit the ground with a squeak and I immediately rushed over to her, hoping to get some distance from that living boulder who was obviously glaring fireballs in my direction. I helped Mina sit up, she had her eyes squeezed shut before giving me a sad smile.

 

"Looks like I lost to Marco." She said apologetically.

 

I looked up as Marco came closer. "I'm sorry. I hope you aren't too hurt.." He said, looking as if he were to cry if she said otherwise.

 

Mina, thankfully, shook her head and smiled. "No. That was a neat move. Looks like you'll be getting that point." She then turned to me and looked over at Bert. "Did you score a point yet, Kash?"

 

Oh, so **NOW** they use that nickname.

 

I shook my head." I was just about to land another hit when that living bulldozer knocked me clean off my feet!" I turned my head to bore my glare at Reiner, who also had a nasty look on his face.

 

Marco and Mina just stared at me. "What's a bulldozer?" Mina asked. I internally did not want to answer that, since they probably didn't have things like that yet, so I just shook my head again and stood up.

 

"Ok, let us finish were we left off." I started walking back towards Bert and Reiner, Bert subconsciously bringing a hand back up to the bruise I know I made. Reiner just curled his lip before giving us some space.

 

I smiled darkly and got back into my fighting stance, Bertholdt doing the same, though he looked like he might just break down and cry. Poor kiddo. I squared my shoulders and took a deep breath, launching myself at him as I inhaled. I noticed his muscles bunch together as he tensed up, bringing his hands up into an X, almost like he was replaying our earlier scuffle. I wasn't falling for that and dipped down, thrusting my fist right into his abdomen. Bertholdt keeled over as I jumped clear of him, a hand clutching his middle, one eye closed from the pain. I wasn't going to let him have a breather, I mean, these hand to hand combat fights were meant to keep us on our toes in case of dangerous people trying to attack us, right? So why should I relax in a training bout?

 

Without a moment's hesitation, I sprang back in for another hit, but I saw Bertholdt reach out to grab me, his hand gripping my jacket and holding me in place. I instantly began to try and shake him off, but it was like a giant clamp had come down from the heaven's and gripped onto me. I kicked out, aiming for the one thing that might take him down for good, but as I kicked his genital area, his face contorted into a mask of rage. He balled up his free hand slammed it into my ribs with such force that I'm sure he had broken a few ribs. He then released my jacket, letting me fall to the ground as he keeled over for the second time, hands on his knees as he tried to alleviate the pain in his groin area. I lay on my back, eyes wide as I tried gasping for breath, but each breath was like a stab to my chest, arms coming up to hug myself, my ribs exploding into pain as I touched the area. I rocked back and forth on the ground, tears began to roll down my cheeks and I felt hands tapping me from all around. I cracked open my eyes, looking through the tears to see Marco and Mina crouched above me, yelling something, but I didn't hear them over my sobs. I thought I heard Seisko call out my name and saw her come into my line of sight, looking down at me with a scared look before glaring over at someone. She then began to yell angrily, another girl ,I didn't recognize, attempted to calm her down by rubbing her back and trying to lead her away. They all stopped and looked over me and someone who dropped down on my right side. I turned my head to see Instructor Shadis, his sunken eyes never blinking as he glanced at me, then gripped my arm, lifting it away from my bruised torso. I squeaked in pain and tried to yank my arm away in an attempt to curl back in on myself, but damn, was he strong. He motioned for someone else to grab my other arm and Mina took hold, her eyes wet like she wanted to cry for me. I felt my shirt being lifted up and I suddenly cried even harder, feeling the fabric practically peel off of my injury like a sticker. As my shirt was lifted, I saw Mina put a hand to her mouth, Marco closing his eyes and looking away, Seisko broke away from the random girl and crouched beside me, her expression a mixture of irritation and horror. I expected a large bruise to have formed but Shadis looked skeptical.

 

"Didn't know you had it in ya, Bertholdt." Shadis spoke. His voice was much clearer now as I had calmed down from flat out sobbing to choked whimpers. I could feel his calloused hand touch and prod, though I winced away from his touches. "Looks like you'll be watching this training exercise from the infirmary." He sat me up, Mina still holding onto my hand for dear life. Shadis then nodded for someone to help stand me up, and to my surprise, Bertholdt was suddenly there, his arm wrapped around my lower back. Heck, he looked like might have an emotional breakdown if I just blinked at him.

_Emotional potato._

 

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I-" I cut Bertholdt off as we began our trek to the infirmary; Mina had let go of my hand and stood watching us head away.

 

"Nah, it's good. I would have done the same if you kicked my crotch." I joked, though my voice sounded forced from the agony I was in. He still looked like he was about to unleash the water works, but I rolled my eyes and continued limping.

 

We finally made it to the infirmary, a girl about my age coming up to us with a flourish of her hair. "What happened?"

 

Bertholdt didn't look as if he was going to explain, so I did. "This beanstalk over here took it upon himself to punch a young lady such as I." I dramatically attempted to place a hand on my forehead, but the small bump from when Shadis headbutted me was still there and I dropped my hand as I hit it, wincing in pain.

 

She smiled and allowed me to lean on her as I dislodged from Bert. "I'll take it from here. You go back to the field." Bertholdt turned away reluctantly, though he seemed a little relieved.

 

I then turned back to face him. "Hey, Bert." He stopped and turned back my way. "Hopefully I didn't leave a bruise on your chest." He lifted a hand to touch it and shrugged.

 

"I'll be fine." His voice was small as he spoke, turning back around and heading back to the field.

 

The nurse, that's what I'll call her, led me to a bed, laying me against the soft mattress. "So you said he punched you?"

 

I nodded and slowly lifted up my shirt, feeling tears well up again as the shirt fabric rubbed against my swollen chest. She took one look at it and bit her lip.

 

"That's a nasty bruise you received." She leaned closer, her brown hair falling over her shoulders. "It also looks like he busted a few ribs, but don't worry," She rushed out as I gazed wide eyed at her. "It's not too bad. You'll have to stay out of training for a few days, but it should be fine all in all." She stood up and walked over to a cabinet, grabbing what looked like medicinal salve and some pills. She opened the salve and put some gloves on, using a few fingers to get the salve out of the container. She leaned down again and began to softly rub the salve onto my bruised and broken area, of course, I winced the whole time, and was glad when she pulled away. She also softly rubbed some of the salve onto the bump that was obviously growing on my forehead. She grabbed some gauze and I leaned forward as she wrapped my chest. She then grabbed the pill bottle and dumped out two pills. "These may make you drowsy, but they'll stop the pain for a while. I'll have to give you some more when you wake up, but you should feel a lot better."

 

I nodded as she gave me the pills, watching her as she went to get a glass of water. She came back and i downed the pills in one gulp, before leaning back down. She smiled at me before turning away to let me rest.

 

"I'll see you when you wake up."

 

I smiled back and sighed as the first wave of exhaustion hit me like a smooth blanket, the pills worked fast; my chest no longer hurt as I closed my eyes and let sleep take a hold of me, thinking about what happened today. I sighed inwardly.

 

How was I going to protect Marco or anyone else, if I couldn't even fight hand to hand combat properly?

 

I felt my shoulders slump as dreamland took me for a ride.


	3. A Mess I Jumped Into

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Old Note : Hey everyone, Kashmir here, and I just want to apologize for making you all wait for some new chapters. I got kinda lazy and ended up worrying about college as the finals approached. I was going to update a lot sooner, but a terrible storm, which destroyed half my small town, caused the internet to be unavailable for 4 DAYS. I know, I suffered without WiFi for that long.  
> Now that it's back, I'll be updating 3 more chapters, but since you had to wait a bit longer because of my WiFi issues, I'll post 4 chapters today.  
> I hope you enjoy them.

 

It's been about a week since I'd been confined to the infirmary, my ribs had magically healed much faster than I had expected, which was a surprise to not just myself, but to everyone working in the medical area.

 

I walked out to the training area, excited to continue working, but as soon as I stepped out of the doors, all eyes fell on me. I blinked a few times to let my eyes adjust to the bright sun before making my way down to the others. Seisko was practically bouncing from toe to toe as she spotted me, a huge smile plastered on her face. I smiled back before turning my attention to Instructor Shadis, who simply nodded in the direction of an open space in one of the lines.

 

Right next to Reiner.

 

On the other side of where I was to stand, Annie was there with her ever present resting bitch face. Of course, she glared at me, no surprise since she glares at everyone and everything, but Reiner seemed to stiffen, his muscles flexing. I didn't know whether he was showing off or that he seriously didn't like me, but whatever, I had to stand here whether they liked it or not. Bertholdt was on Reiner's other side, looking as sweaty and nervous as he always does.

 

I took my place in line, shrugging off the tension that was surrounding them, as I listened to the instructor. He was going on and on about proper fighting skills and just the basics to correctly balancing on ODM gear. What got my wandering attention was the fact that we were going to be training using the titan dummies. I couldn't help my feel my lips twitching upward as the ever growing excitement in me showed itself. Instructor Shadis then led a large group of us, which was half the cadet corps since the other half would be practicing hand-to-hand combat (again), to the small forest surrounded by walls of boulders and rocks. As we headed there, everyone dispersed into small groups of friends and I found myself bombarded by Seisko, who swung me around in a big hug.

 

"I'm glad you're back out here with us." Seisko hummed. "It was getting kinda lonely by myself."

 

"Yeah, I'm glad to be back, too, but," I let go to strap on my gear, tying it securely around my chest and waist. "I thought you'd make some friends in my absence."

 

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I made friends! I'm definitely getting closer to Jean." She then winked at me and I held back the urge to pinch her.

 

Why she pinned after Jean instead of a sweet guy like Thomas, I'll never know. Besides, I'm sure he likes Mikasa, right-

 

"Hey, Seisko, you comin'?"

 

We both turned to the source of that voice and I was oddly surprised, I think I was in shock (probably). Jean was standing there, waving an arm at us as if beckoning Sei to his side. Seisko then winked at me, and practically pranced after him. What a turn of events. I snorted and made my way after them, only to smile brightly as some familiar figures headed my way.

 

Freckled Sunshine and Mina headed towards me, Mina gripping my hands and returning my smile. "I'm glad you're ok now." She said, looking my over like a dotting mother.

 

"I didn't think I'd heal so fast, considering my size." I was rather skinny, but that's what you'd expect from teenagers sent into the military before the legal age.

 

"That just shows how tough you are." Marco's voice was smooth like honey and soft like velvet. Plus, his smile was like that of a God's- I'm sure you all can see how much I frickin' love this child.

 

We all walked together towards the edge of the mini-forest, making a few lines in front of the instructor. My line was one of the first to go, my palms were sweaty, and butterflies were practically consuming my stomach lining. I bit the inside of my cheek, inhaling deeply which caused a small twinge in my ribs; though they were healed, the small bruises were still there. Wincing, I put a hand to my chest, lightly tapping the area as Shadis explained the rules... somewhat.

 

"Make sure your gear is in good condition to subjugate your target. We don't want you flying upside down." He pointedly looked at Eren, who only seemed to frown even more. He frowns so much, I'm sure his face will get stuck like that- "These may be test dummies, but you must always be ready for anything." He then moved out of the line's way, backing up a good distance. He then added with a sigh. "And try not to hurt each other."

 

I felt like that was directed towards what happened a week ago; I noticed Bertholdt looking pretty damn pale. I snorted. No way was I gonna let these shifters harm me again.

 

Shadis lifted a flare gun over his head, not even bothering to cover his other ear as he shot off a white flare. My line surged forward, shooting their anchors into the trees above. I lagged behind a little, still wobbly with being in the air after a week on the ground and stuck in an infirmary. I was unstable at first, occasionally making pit stops on the large tree branches overhead. I spotted a dummy not far my from paused position and took off towards it, making a beeline for its nape, which was a bag of sand, but just as tough as a real titan nape; so I've heard. I angled my blades to slice at the right time, but just as I was about to make the cut, a figure sped right by me, slashing the area I was aiming for. I pulled myself back to stop from colliding with the falling dummy. I sighed; my chance at a perfect hit was just ruined. I stared down at the figure, trying to see who it was. The person tucked blonde hair behind her ear before shooting off in another direction.

 

_Of course it was her._

 

I simply made my way to other dummies, finally able to pull off some hits, though I nearly crashed into it a few times, much to everyone's amusement and my obvious irritation. A loud bang and another white flare later, and we were all done with this exercise. I was sweating waterfalls, but I knew the others were too with the way their chests heaved and legs shook as they trudged back. I landed a few paces away, my knees nearly giving out, but I was able to catch myself, thankfully. I had landed near Sasha and Connie, the two going on about hunting and food. I tripped in my tiredness, only to feel a pair of hands catching me before I got a face full of dirt.

 

"You took a dive there, buddy." Connie remarked.

 

Sasha elbowed him in the side before patting my shoulder. "Are you OK, Kashmir. You're not hurt anywhere?" She was always so polite, even to her peers.

 

I shook my head. "I'm fine. Just tired." My ribs also seemed to ache. Maybe I should have stretched more before coming out here. "Thanks, though."

 

Sasha smiled, about to say something, but her eyes looked just behind me, and she quickly grabbed Connie's arm. "Well, now that you're better, we should be heading back, yes?"

 

I was confused as she spun on her heels, dragging a equally confused Connie after her. Curious, I looked behind myself, wondering what spooked her.

 

_Oh._

 

The titan trio marched, Reiner looking oddly suspicious. I narrowed my eyes, waiting for them to get closer since they were headed my way anyway. They stopped about a foot in front of me and I quirked an eyebrow.

 

"What's up?" I tried to sound friendly, though I'm sure they weren't stopping me for small chit chat.

 

Annie tucked her hair behind her ear, again, before glaring. "Do you know?"

 

I stared at her. "know what?" I asked, unsure of what she meant till a thought struck me like lightning. She must be talking about if I know they're shifters. I did joke about Reiner being armoured a week back, but I didn't think they'd take me seriously...

 

I played it off as a weird question and shrugged my shoulders, turning around. "Look, we can talk about whatever you wanna talk about back at the dorms," but as I started to walk away, a heavy hand grasped my shoulder (everyone likes to grab my shoulders these days).

 

I looked at him, ready to shake his hand off. I was tired and not in the mood to deal with their bs at the moment. Before I could speak, he asked the question that had my chest tightening.

 

"Do you know what we are?"

 

Well, he was in for a surprise.

 

"What're you gonna do if I said I did?" I took the chance to say it. They looked at me as if I had just grown another head.

 

Great job, Kashmir. You just landed yourself in the danger zone.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The next few days were spent trying to avoid contact with those three, which was a challenge since I shared a room with one of them. We had the day off from training so we got to roam around and just hang out. I, of course, slept in, waking to find the blonde chick watching me from her side of the room, like an owl on the hunt. I rolled my eyes as I sat up; I could feel her eyes staring craters into my soul as I got up, making my bed. I was fluffing my pillows up as I spoke.

 

"Are you gonna do anything productive today or am I just that attractive?" I joked.

 

I could practically feel her scoffing at me. "Are you going to tell anyone?"

 

_Way to be subtle, Annie._

 

I shook my head and turned to her. "No. There is no need to say anything if they're just going to find out on their own." I was quickly grabbed by the arm. Annie was frowning rather darkly at me and I instantly regretted saying anything.

 

"What do you mean by that?" She said.

 

"Uh, If I told you how I know, you wouldn't believe me." I flinched as her grip tightened.

 

"What wouldn't I believe?"

 

Stop with the questions already.

 

I took a deep breath, unsure of where to begin. "Well... I'm from the future, and I know what's going to happen, but I want to change that.."

 

She was looking at me quite unconvinced so I quickly added. "That's why I know they'll find out about you. Cause I can, uh, see into the future. Like a, um, prophet."

 

She still had that look on her face, but she didn't argue any longer. She finally let me go, and I rubbed my arm. Damn, she had a strong grip.

 

"They won't find out about me. Or them." I knew she was just trying to convince herself more than tell me, but I had an idea.

 

"Of course they won't." I inwardly knew this was going to backfire on me, but I had to do it.

 

She just stared at me and I knew I was going to end up having to make some hard decisions later on.

 

"I'm going to help you."


	4. What A Day

 

The day of Graduation had come.

 

Those that had ranked as the top 10 were standing in a line in front of everyone else, Shadis acknowledging who they were and what place they had made. I was standing next to Marco, Seisko, and Armin, who looked as proud as a mother. As the ceremony came to a close, the 10 turned and melded into the crowd; Armin meeting with Eren and Mikasa, Ymir putting an arm around Christa, Sasha and Connie looked as if they were about to start a mock battle, and Jean strode up, the usual playboy smirk apparent on his lips. He was obviously about to boast and then complain about Eren making higher than him, Marco rolling his eyes as Seisko giggled, standing oddly close to the horse face. I decided that I wasn't gonna stick around for that so I made myself scarce, vanishing into the crowd before they could say anything.

 

As I was making my getaway, a hand stopped me as it tugged on my jacket sleeve. Turning, I found Annie behind me, somewhat of a smile on her face. In the last few weeks of training, I had grown unusually close to the three shifters, normally spending my free time alongside them ever since I made the choice to help. We discussed about a mission that involved the capture of Eren. I even brought up the subject of the titan serum, which was a bad idea since it seemed to be a sensitive subject to them, considering that they were only children back then and the only way to become the titans they are today was to consume someone of that power. I knew that much, at least.

 

I smiled back at her, daring to embrace the small girl. "Congrats, Annie." I said warmly.

 

Her eyes shone a bright blue, and she even embraced me back, much to my surprise and joy. She then let go and motioned with a wave of her hand to follow. I let her lead the way towards a small room where two people stood. Of course it was Reiner and Bertholdt. I could never get rid of those two, watching me like hawks and always having their doubts about me. It's whatever, though. Not like I need their trust anyway. I just need to stick with Annie to change the outcome of that fateful expedition, that was getting closer by the day..

 

"Looks like you guys are model soldiers now, eh?" I joked, nudging Bertholdt's arm, who looked as if I had just snatched it off. Poor kid.

 

"I guess." Was his reply.

 

Reiner seemed to puff out his chest as if to look bigger, smirking proudly. "You bet. Now, everything should go according to plan."

 

I nodded, though I doubted it would go the way they wanted with or without me telling the future to help them. It's not like I want to see Zeke or anything..

 

I still had to figure out a way to stop Marco's death. I guess I'll just have to do it myself, or get Seisko to watch over him, since they both seem centered around Jean.

 

"Hopefully this goes smoothly. It'd be a shame if you were to get caught in the act." _Or if I were to get caught,_ I silently added to myself. I couldn't imagine what the court, more like the Military Police, would do to me if they found out I was helping a group of shifters infiltrate the walls to end humanity. Probably scream about shooting me or something.

 

As much as I wanted to tell them about my future telling skills, I wasn't going to tell them about the basement. I'd let them figure it out on their own. It wasn't my place to change that part of history.

 

We settled for simple conversation as the room began to fill with other cadets. I figured the instructors would let us stay out late due to celebrating Graduation and all. I still said a short goodbye to the trio before heading to my shared dorm room, feeling like I'll need my energy for something that'll happen tomorrow.

 

_Wait._

 

Wasn't the titan attack supposed to happen tomorrow like it did in the anime/manga?

 

Naaaaah.

 

* * *

 

 

I woke up rather early the next day, pushing myself to a sitting position and rubbing my eyes. I checked the room, looking to see if anyone else was awake, but thankfully, no one stirred. I climbed down from the top bunk, being especially careful not to bump against Seisko's leg that was hanging off the edge of the bed on the bottom bunk. I slowly placed my feet down on the hardwood floor, practically tip toeing towards the door, grabbing a pair of shoes on my way out. As I exited the room, slipping my last shoe on, I spotted a guard with his back to me across the hall. I held my breath, hoping he wouldn't turn around, and backed away towards the other end of the hall. I turned and dashed into what appeared to be a bathroom. Calming down a little, I decided to make this a time to have a bathroom break. As I washed my hands, I stared at my reflection, wondering silently.

 

I wonder what's happening in my real time. Is this all but a dream? Is my real body in a coma-like state until I get out of here? What about my parents? What about my spoiled Guinea Pig? These thoughts flooded me and I felt my chest sting. As much as this place was a new experience into time travel, I still missed my real home.

 

I washed my face with the warm water, feeling myself wake up more and more as I tore myself from those dark thoughts. I then took a deep breath and headed towards the bathroom door, pausing to check and see if there were sounds on the other side.

 

All Clear.

 

I opened the door and glanced from side to side. Nothing and no one. I decided to go outside; since it was dawn, it'd be nice and cool outside. I maneuvered through the halls and came upon a door that led outside, but as I headed out, I stopped dead in my tracks. Keith Shadis was standing with his back to me, looking as if he were just staring out at the town below the cliff the training corps was stationed on. Or he became a statue, since he was as still as a tree trunk, even when the wind whipped around him. I made to turn around and go back inside, but his voice stopped and startled me.

 

"What are you doing up so early, cadet?"

 

I grimaced and turned back to face him, his head slightly tilted to regard my presence.

 

"I just woke up and couldn't go back to sleep, sir." I managed to say as he fully turned to face me.

 

"Ah," He glanced up and down at my body and I realized that I was still in my PJ's. Embarrassed, I made a pathetic attempt at covering myself, dressed in nothing but a t-shirt and shorts, but he continued speaking. "Cadet Kashmir Hauff."

 

Ah, so that's this girl's last name. Does that mean her parents are German or Indian or **both**? Nice. 

 

"Sir," I saluted, not sure on what else to do or say.

 

He snorted and turned back to looking out towards the wall. "Have you thought about your future?" Was all he said after a moment of silence.

 

I let go of the salute, walking to stand next to him. "Not really, but I do know that my choices will be rather difficult soon."

 

"And why is that?" He side-glanced at me, and I shuffled my feet.

 

"Well, because-" I stopped. Am I really gonna tell him that I could read the future? He'd probably think I was a psycho..

 

He was still watching me, I could feel it as I looked down at my rusty looking shoes. I didn't know what else I could say to make this awkward silence disappear.

 

I then just gave up and spoke. No point in being secretive and weird like in those annoying plot twisting TV series. "I can read the future."

 

It was very quiet then; I stared ahead at the wall that only seemed to get further away as you looked at it. I heard a shuffling of shoes and Shadis appeared in front of me, leaning down to my eye level.

 

"Come again?" He rasped.

 

"I can read the future.... Like a prophet... I guess.." I was starting to lowkey panic. I didn't want to look him in the eye, so I looked back down at my worn down shoes. "It's OK if you don't believe me."

 

"Oh, I'm starting to think you may be on to something." He leaned away and I glanced up. "Your friend, Seisko, she's been saying stuff like that, too. She says it's only the two of you that have this," He paused, obviously for dramatic effect. "Power."

 

I wanted to laugh. Dude, this wasn't a power. At least I didn't think it was. Being able to tell the future in this world wasn't fun at all. And who was Seisko talking to? Maybe Jean or Shadis himself. But why would she tell them now of all times? She could never hold a secret, not even in her real body.

 

"Oh, uh.." Was all I could manage.

 

"So tell me." Shadis leaned back down. "Tell me what will happen today."

 

Was he testing me?

 

I put a hand on my hip. "The wall will be destroyed."

 

 

* * *

 

 

It's been a few hours since my talk with Instructor Shadis, and oddly enough, he believed every word I said. Seisko had been was the first to talk to me once I was had returned inside.

 

"What was that all about? You get into trouble or something?" She had said, a look of curiosity written on her face.

 

I had simply shaken my head. "No. Apparently, since you've got quite the big mouth," I had joked, Seisko's expression shifting to give me a mock glare. "Shadis might know something about us being able to tell the future."

 

She had just shrugged it off and walked me to the mess hall for breakfast, stating, "Well, if we want to change history, they gotta know sooner or later."

 

It's been about an hour since that conversation; I was sitting with a group of friends consisting of Jean, Seisko, Marco, and a few others I didn't recognize.

 

"I'm telling you, I think the Military Police would be the best choice." Jean was preaching yet again. "Safe and sound in the interior." It looked like he was trying to convince the others around him to follow in his lead.

 

Marco smiled sweetly. "Yes. A perfect way to protect the citizens and the king."

 

Seisko was smiling widely. "Yeah,I guess. Though, I know you would still pick Survey Corps."

 

I frowned. Why is she suddenly telling the future like its an OK thing to do? Let them believe what they want to.

 

I sat there thinking as a cadet came running into the nearly empty mess hall, looking as if he had just run a marathon.

 

"Titans!" Was all he could get out as he slumped over, hands on his knees as he gasped for breath.

 

We all jumped to our feet, a few murmurs of fear before loud voices could be heard throughout the area. Voices telling to grab our equipment and man the canons was enough to send everyone spiraling out of the mess hall doors and towards our dorms, where we swiftly wrapped the straps around our bodies and slung the jackets over our shoulders. The equipment room was over flowing with people rushing in and out; I could practically smell the fear coming off of these kids.

 

This was it. What I had predicted to Shadis had come true. I wonder if the old man was on his way here or off getting stations ready. I don't know, but I didn't have time to ponder on it as I gripped my equipment and made my way outside to the courtyard, where many others were. There was a tall ginger speaking, Kits, and he seemed to look as frightened as the majority of the cadets. Not really helping the situation at all. After he was done speaking, we were then put into squads; I was put in a squad consisting of a few random people I didn't know. We all came together and an older looking guy gave us a plan on how to defeat our section of titans, but as we made our way to our area, I could feel myself getting uneasy.

 

This wasn't as exciting as I thought it'd be.


	5. Supplies

 

As we flew around, I could see the titans in front of us, my stomach lurching at the thought of getting close to those monsters. Maybe the Military Police wasn't such a bad idea. The Garrison might be just as good...

 

A titan pounced out of nowhere, a creepy smile dancing on its lips as it widened its mouth. I watched in sickening horror as it completely consumed on of my squad mates, her screams forever in my head. I flew away, afraid to continue on to our destination as more titans appeared, their huge eyes locking onto my squadron. The groans and moans they made as they were climbing over each other to reach us was beyond disturbing. I felt bad for a split second; these monsters used to be human until the government outside the walls decided it was a good idea to stab people with the serum and throw them off the walls. I dodged their grabby hands as I weaved through buildings, making my way towards my supposed location, even though I was a mass of fear filled muscle.

 

I saw the area I was supposed to be stationed at and nearly fell out of the sky in sheer horror. The titans had overrun the area before my squad could get there. I stopped atop a half destroyed roof, staring in shock the faint sound of screaming could be heard emanating from the mouth of a titan, its hand in front of its face as if it were... eating... something. I backed away. There was no point in continuing unless I wanted to commit suicide; and that wasn't gonna happen in a thousand years. Thankfully, none of the titans noticed me as I made a mad dash back to anywhere that seemed clear of titans. Soon enough, I spotted a group of cadets dotting the roofs of a couple buildings; they looked utterly defeated. I found Seisko and made a beeline towards her, landing near by.

 

"Hey," I spoke.

 

She whirled around and quickly headed towards me. "Good. You're alright." She seemed to let out a breath she must have been holding. "Everything's gone to shit. At least one person from each squad is dead or missing. We've all practically given up."

 

I frowned, dropping my voice to a somewhat whisper. "We gotta secure the supply base, you know that."

 

She huffed, though, putting her hands on her hips. "Yeah, well, Mikasa better bring her ass on and make that speech so we can leave this area. I don't feel safe here."

 

"I don't think anyone does."

 

She then beckoned for me to follow her and we made our way towards Connie and Jean, the former gesturing wildly, while the latter sat with his head in his hands, looking quite dejected. As we got closer, Connie stopped talking; Jean looking up as Seisko sat down beside him, rubbing his back.

 

I gave Connie a nod, which he gave one back as I looked around for any more familiar faces. Of course, Thomas and Mina were dead, but I still wish I could have done something about it. I saw Marco standing in a semi-circle with Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie. I decided to go to them just as the sound of gas being used sounded nearby.

 

Black hair waving as Mikasa landed, power walking over to Armin, who began to cry and whimper. They spoke for a bit before she turned around and marched back to the front of the group. She stopped, her back to us, before she swung around, thrusting her sword into the sky.

 

"I am strong. Very strong." She began. "You are all weak." And that's when I tuned her out, adjusting the sword handles and latching the blades to them. She can talk all that shit about how strong she was now, but with what I know, I can crush her in mere seconds with just my words.

 

She must have finished her speech, because she jumped down from the roof, blasting her gas as she aimed towards the supply base which was teeming with titans. Jean shouted about following her lead and then we were off, everyone leaping from their roofs and propelling themselves towards their target. I followed after them, trying hard not to pay attention to any of the ones caught by the titans. To conserve my gas, I landed on a few roofs as I went, running across them until I hit the edges, jumping onto the next roof with ease.

 

As we reached the goal, I saw them making the decision to break through the windows, since all the doors were blocked by titan bodies. I followed after Seisko as she crashed through into the building, rolling as I hit the ground. As I regained my balance, I noticed the room go quiet. That's when I saw fearful eyes peering out from underneath tables and desks, watching us. Jean immediately exploded into a fit, punching the lights out of one of the male cadets that had come out of hiding. Marco restrained him, though Jean kept screaming at them. One girl also came out of hiding, tears rolling down her face as she yelled back, gripping onto the fallen cadet. Saying that the supply room had been infiltrated by the titans so there was no way to escape the building without jumping into the titans climbing the tower outside.

 

Finally, Mr. Horseface calmed down, thanks to Sei and Marco, allowing us to formulate a plan for what to do next when Jean froze. We followed his gaze, locking eyes with two titans that were staring into a gaping hole in the side of the building. They had creepy smiles adorning their faces. Right when we thought they would start reaching in to grab us, a large fist smashed into their heads, sending them barreling into the next building over. As soon as that happened, Mikasa, and Connie, who was holding Armin bridal style, burst through the already broken windows.

 

"It's ok." Mikasa gasped out. "That titan is killing other titans."

 

Armin slipped out of Connie's arms. "It's weird, but it looks like it's on our side."

 

"It's amazing!" Connie exclaimed.

 

I took the chance to peer outside of the gap, spotting the titan punting the tiny titans across the district. I knew that was Eren, but I wasn't going to say anything. It'd only make me sound crazier than I already am. I turned back and followed the other cadets downstairs, where the supplies were being held captive by the small titans inside. At the bottom of the stairs, a cadet was peering out of the slightly ajar door, closing it back with a jerk, his face a mask of terror.

 

"There's no way we'd be able to get our supplies back without attacking them head on." He said, worry etched in his voice.

 

"No, I think I've got a plan." A quiet voice spoke up. We all turned to see Marco, a hand under his chin as he began to formulate a plan using a marker and a sheet of brown paper that came out of nowhere.

 

As we made our way down the stairs, Reiner was going on about the best way to kill the titans if we couldn't get the nape.

 

"You can just stab the sword up their asses, since that's also a weak spot." He demonstrated by thrusting his sword up. 

 

Jean obviously didn't give a shit. "Those could be your last words." He snorted. 

 

We all shared a good laugh, even when we were staring into the face of death with this plan. 

 

After that, I found myself pointing a rifle into the eye of an approaching titan. It, along with the rest of the titans occupying the room, began to make its way towards us. As they got closer, scared shuffling could be heard as the lumbering giants slowly approached. I started to get trigger happy, ready to pull the trigger at any given moment. Marco better give the order to fire or-

 

"Now!" He finally shouted as the room erupted into gunfire, the titans backing away as their eyes steamed from the wounds.

 

As they backed off, the cadets along the rafters sprang from their hiding spots, tearing into the napes of the unsuspecting monsters, killing all but one. Sasha had failed to hit the nape correctly, Connie coming to her rescue as it locked its healing eyes on her. Unfortunately, Connie also missed and began to back away alongside Sasha as the beast charged them. Thankfully, Annie dealt the finishing blow on it as the two barraged her with gratitude.

 

Once that was over, cheers from the surrounding boys and girls could be heard throughout the base. I smiled, turning to Marco to applaud him, yet the freckled son of God had nearly fainted, only held up by the nearby cadets. He smiled weakly at all the praise the others threw at him before we all began to gather supplies; renewing our blades and filling up our gas canisters. Now that I was fulling replenished of supplies, I felt braver than before, ready to take on any titan. I could tell from the new light in everyone's eyes that they felt the same way.

 

Everyone began to head outside, now that the titans climbing the place had all been killed by the Eren titan. Thanks to him, it seemed like the entire place was void of any titans, making it easier for all of us to go outside. Mikasa, and Armin went immediately after the rogue titan, Jean, Seisko, Annie, Bertholdt, and Reiner close behind. I decided to follow even though I knew what was going to happen, so did Seisko. The titan looked rather exhausted as it killed off the last one of the titans in the surrounding area, as we got there; the Eren titan falling to its knees. We watched as steam erupted from its prone form.

 

"Looks like it fought itself to exhaustion." Jean murmured.

 

We all stared in silence until something popped out from its nape. Seisko and I shared a knowing glance, using one finger to shush her when it looked like she was going to blurt out something. Mikasa verbally gasped and launched herself to the ground level, dropping her blades and pretty much her entire equipment as she climbed up the dead titan's body. She slumped down, clutching Eren to her chest as we all followed her down. She then began to sob quite loudly as the others gaped at who they saw.

 

"Looks like things are going to get wilder from here on out." Seisko whispered to me, crossing her arms.

 

I nodded my agreement, excited for the rest of the story to play out exactly as we've read about. This was a joyride we'd both enjoy till the last.


	6. The Saving Of Our Freckled Lord

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Old Note : OK!!!
> 
> This is the chapter where we get to save our Freckled Lord and Savior, Marco!
> 
> Last chapter took me an entire day, from the time I woke up, till about 7:40 pm, to write. My mind is currently writing the plot for further chapters, so writing about the beginning episodes is kinda hard since I really want to get to writing the Kenny arc and some Zeke shit. Plus, I want to show more of Shadis's character and even some Marlo, Nile and Hitch character development in my story. Pyxis and the others will get some proper character time in the next few chapters, since we are on the Trost arc right now.
> 
> I'm not entirely sure which regiment Seisko will go into, but I do plan on having Kashmir join the Military Police in an attempt to sorta stop Annie, even though she didn't make the top 10, but I'll delve into that later. ;)
> 
> Enjoy this one for now, lovelies. ;)))
> 
> PS: With my long fingers, I kept hitting that window button at the bottom of a desktop keyboard that closed the tab out. So I pretty much had to rewrite the rest of the chapter TWO TIMES. I know there is a 'save' button, but I always forget its there. My fingers are long and fast so of course I make a lot of mistakes and hit keys that may or may not close the ao3 tab and delete a long chapter I've been working on all day... That's why the part where Pixis comes in seems so rushed is because I wasn't about to rewrite his speech for the third time, no thanks to my clumsy, long fingers. But here it is. I may or may not start on chapter 7 since I am thinking of posting my other story I'm working on. Eh.

 

After we all learned that Eren was the rogue titan, though Seisko and I knew beforehand, we were sworn to secrecy after the Garrison had arrived, taking Eren into custody. Armin and Mikasa stayed with him, refusing to leave his side and resulting in them being detained as well. We didn't get to see where they were taken since the rest of us were ushered towards some sort of plaza area where a crowd of the remaining cadets and older soldiers all stood. There was a table a few steps away where Jean chose to sit at, Seisko and Marco trailing after him. I decided to keep standing as Ymir and Christa strode up.

 

"What's going on? What happened to Eren and his friends?" Christa asked innocently.

 

"Sorry, can't tell you." Jean replied, downing a canteen of water- where did he get that, anyway?- when the sound of an explosion sounded nearby, startling everyone. Jean was the first to hop up, the titan trio following. Without any more hesitation, I quickly followed as they scaled the top of a building. I joined them and watched in amazement as Eren, Armin, and Mikasa were practically cowering under the half-muscled, half-skeletal bust of a titan, its arm partially destroyed, smoke radiating off of it. I suspected the cannon ball must have hit it as it protected them. Jean immediately whirled around after a moment of staring. "Let's not stay up here, unless we want to hear endless questioning from the others."

 

We all nodded our agreement before sliding down the side of the house, joining back with the crowd. As we made our way back, Ymir was standing there, hands on her hips.

 

"What was that all about?" She huffed.

 

"Sorry, can't tell you." I repeated the words Jean had said earlier. "Besides, we'll probably know soon enough." I mumbled more to myself than to anyone else.

 

We waited for about 30 minutes, talking to each other in hushed tones, until a booming voice could be heard from the top of the wall in front of us. I glanced up to see Dot Pixis himself in the flesh looking down into the crowd. Those that were sitting rose to their feet, ready to listen to anything the Garrison Commander had to say.

 

He spoke rather quickly, despite a mini dispute where Kits nearly attacked the ones who tried to flee the area, but once they had all calmed down the plan was put into motion. I was put into a squad with Marco as our leader. He seemed a little bashful at being put as leader, but I knew he was a natural head honcho. Just so long as he survived this...

 

We set out towards an area in the hopes of getting rid of any titans that just wandering the area, though the majority of the titans had all clustered around the corner of a wall, trying to grab at the cadets that were hanging close to them as bait. There weren't many out this far, except for maybe one or two, but they weren't close for us to worry about it.

 

A half hour later and we were standing atop a roof top. Reiner and Bertholdt strode off together, heads close as if in hushed conversation. Marco was a little ways away, a hand on his chin as the other rested on his hip. I came up alongside him, wondering what he was thinking so hard about.

 

"What's got you all worried?" I spoke, smiling. "The titans are too far away to worry about right now. I think we can relax. Conserve our gas."

 

Marco nodded. "I still feel off about something..." I wondered if he could see a bit into the future too, ya know... see your life flash before your eyes before you die? Well, he wasn't going to die today, not on my watch, or ever for that matter.

 

He then shook his head. "Let's go and get the others, I'm sure we'll figure out what to do next."

 

"You're our leader, I'm sure you can come up with something." I tried to keep him away from those titan shifters, but he still strode up to them.

 

"I may be the leader, but I need others' inputs, too." I wanted to strangle him, but I knew he didn't know what was about to happen.

 

I jogged to catch up to him right when it all happened.

 

"What are you guys talking about?" Marco started.

 

Bertholdt and Reiner whipped around, frozen to their spots. They looked as if they were children with their hands stuck in the cookie jar.

 

Reiner was the first to speak, his voice slightly wavering. "Oh, we're just joking.."

 

It was silent for a heartbeat before Marco replied. "Well, don't joke about that kind of stuff, it's weird." He then turned around, shooting his hooks off. "Come on, we still have a mission to complete." Then he was off.

 

I felt cold fear rip through my body as Reiner moved to give chase. I quickly sped after Marco, avoiding eye contact with those two shifters. I felt like a traitor to them, but I also knew that they shouldn't have spoken so freely even when they thought they were alone. I pressed down on my gas, trying my best to reach Marco before Reiner did, my heart beating a mile a minute. I saw something out of the corner of my eye and, thinking it was Reiner, I reached Marco, wrapping my arms around his waist and dragging him down to the ground. We landed a little awkward, since I was holding onto him, but we were out of sight behind a few buildings. Marco looked back at me, surprised.

 

"What are you doing?" He moved my arms off of him, only to give me a hard stare. "What's up with you? You've been acting pretty weird lately."

 

My heart clenched when he gave me such a cold look, but I glared at him. "I don't have time to tell you right now. I promise I'll tell you later, but right now, I've got to get you out of here."

 

He quirked an eyebrow. "Why-"

 

The sounds of feet hitting roof tiles sounded louder than they should have. Without thinking, I grabbed onto the door knob of a random building and was surprised to find it unlocked. Of course no one would lock their doors when escaping for their lives from a horde of titans. I opened the door and quickly pulled Marco inside, shutting it and locking it. I ran to all the windows and closed the curtains.

 

"What is going on?" Marco finally said, though he thankfully spoke in a whisper.

 

"Listen. Bertholdt and Reiner. They aren't what they seem to be." I began to explain, slowly motioning for him to follow me to another door that led outside, but out of sight of whoever was atop the roof. "What they were talking about, it was true."

 

Marco looked confused but the smart boy began to put two and two together rather quickly. "You mean to tell me that they..."

 

"Yes. What you heard is correct and now that you overheard them, they want to get rid of you to keep you quiet." I knew it was risky of me to tell him these things, but if I wanted him to cooperate without all the questions, then this was how it was going to be.

 

"They're titans.." Marco looked out of breath. "Wait, but maybe they could help us like Eren-"

 

"No!" I harshly whispered, causing him to jump. I then sighed and grabbed his hand. "No, Marco. They aren't good like Eren and never will be. They want to destroy humanity-"

 

Glass shattered across the hall and I pulled him towards the door we were aiming for, using my shoulder to blast it open. Wincing as the door broke open, I shoved Marco ahead of me. "Get to the wall. Now!"

 

"But what about you?" He looked like he was on the verge of hyperventilating.

 

"I'll be fine. I'll distract them." _Somehow_. "Just, don't tell anyone about this. Not yet. Promise me, Marco."

 

"I... OK, I won't. You have my word."

 

Marco gave me one last look before flying off, staying low to the buildings as he raced towards the wall. Once I knew he was safe, I shot my anchors into the side of the building and flew to the roof. I walked to the edge and peeked over, feeling my chest clench as I saw Reiner and Bertholdt looking into the house through the broken window.

 

"Where'd they go?" Bertholdt's voice was high pitched as if in panic. "We've got the find them, Reiner!"

 

I know that!" Reiner growled, backing away from the window and moving to the side of the house. He must have spotted the busted door for he snarled. "Damn it! They must have escaped through here." Bertholdt appeared beside him, sweating obnoxiously.

 

I didn't want to stick around any longer, beginning to worry about my own life and the fact that Annie wasn't anywhere to be seen, now that I've pretty much betrayed their secret to someone who may or may not tell a higher up. I shot off, boosting with my gas to get as much distance as I can between us. I wasn't about to let them catch up to me. I saw the titans clawing at the wall, still attempting to reach the humans on top. It was too dangerous to try and climb the wall with those monsters there so I chose to go and climb up further down. I took this time to scan around me as I got closer to the wall. I spotted Eren's titan form shuffling towards the wall, a huge boulder on its back. Good, the mission was a success as always.

 

As I landed on the top, I fell to my knees; the sudden weight of exhaustion crashing down on me. I did it. I saved Marco. I actually saved someone. A person! Not that I'm calling myself a hero or anything. I forced myself to my feet, my knees creaking under my sagging weight. I had to go and check on him, make sure he was truly alright. I made my way across the wall, feeling as if I was moving at a snails pace. I eventually reached the corner of the wall where everyone was, the groans of titans below like a low hum; there weren't that many anymore since the cannons were actually aiming right for the napes. I scanned the crowd until I spotted freckles.

 

"Marco?" I called out. A few eyes turned my way, but those brown eyes that seemed to always reflect happiness met mine.

 

"Kashmir! You made it!" I smiled, collapsing into his arms as he slipped past people to reach my side. "Are you OK?"

 

I nodded. "Just tired is all. I'm glad I was able to save you." My eyes fluttered, but I forced myself to stay awake until this mission was over. I never felt this tired before, but I guess it was because I was in a body that wasn't truly mine to begin with. I heard the distant bang of a flare gun and leaned away from Marco, everyone looking in the direction it had come from.

 

Suddenly, screams and shouts of joy surrounded me and Marco. We had won. Humanity's first win against the titans.

 

I smiled. "Looks like it all went the way it should have."

 

Marco nodded. "Yeah, thank you, Kashmir. You saved my life. If you hadn't been there.." He frowned, looking rather sad, but I elbowed him in the ribs.

 

"Of course." I smiled even bigger. "That's what friends are for."

 

* * *

 

 

With the last of the titans eradicated from the district, it was finally time to clean up the mess, including the dead bodies of those who had fallen. We met up with Jean and Seisko, the latter gripping me in a tight hug.

 

"You did it. You actually saved him." Seisko whispered in my ear as we walked a bit away from Marco and Jean who were in their own conversation.

 

"Of course I did." I said. "I'm sure you would have done the same."

 

She gave me a small smile. "I don't know. Besides, you've always been more braver than me."

 

"Whatever." I shook her off with a smile. "Now all we have to do is keep him away from those shifters."

 

"Has Marco said anything about it to anyone?" Seisko asked moving to block my path. "Because if he did, I'm sure they wouldn't believe him anyway."

 

I side-eyed her. "He's not the only witness though. I was there, too."

 

She sighed. "I know, but I still highly doubt they'd believe you."

 

"Yeah." I gave in. "Without actually showing them that they're titans, they wouldn't believe a single word."

 

"Don't worry, I'm sure we can figure something out in the meantime." Seisko led the way back to the boys.

 

I was still worried. Now that Marco knows what they are, can he be truly saved or will he eventually be lost like so many others? I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind. Now was not the time to be thinking negatively.

 

I knew Reiner and Bertholdt had many questions about why I did what I did, but that could wait for whenever they come to me, 'cause I'm not going to them.

 

Not anymore.


	7. Regiments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew~! 
> 
> It took me forever to think of what I want to write for this chapter, because I don't want to rush things, but I also don't want to draw anything out or be slow. 
> 
> I will also be re-watching the episodes and using the characters dialogue to further re-create the anime/manga. That way it'd be easier for me to write dialogue for them and to make it seem like I really am there during each episode/chapter, though I will be writing my own scenes, since I won't always be with the main characters. 
> 
> I had a hard time choosing which regiment Kash would join. I had this feeling that Seisko would just up and join the Survey Corps, it just seems more like her character. But Kash... I was thinking Garrison, then switch to Survey, but I think there's going to be a small surprise in there... ;)
> 
> I literally just wrote Episode 16 as a chapter. That's what this is.

 

A few days had passed and we were all staring into the huge bonfire that turned our fallen comrades into ash and dust. This time, though, Jean wouldn't be holding what he thought to be Marco's bone and ash while practically crying. The freckled boy was now standing next to him, looking just as grieved as everyone else around the fire. Mina and Thomas.. Mylius and Nac, maybe Dazz, too, since I didn't see him anywhere... They'd all be burning to ash tonight, and becoming the smoke that we are all breathing in.

 

It hurt to see the people you were just laughing with this morning becoming dust to be swept under the rug tonight. I heard a choked sob and turned my burning eyes towards the sound. Connie was sitting with his head in his hands, shaking as tears fell from his eyes. I moved over and kneeled beside him, rubbing his back with a soothing hand. Unfortunately, it only made him cry more as he leaned into me. I held him until he subsided into hiccups and sniffles. I looked up at the people surrounding the bonfire. Seisko, Marco and Jean were silently conversing amongst each other. Reiner, Annie and Bertholdt were also talking to each other, though Reiner seemed to be staring into space. Sasha had joined me beside Connie, taking my place as she patted his back. Ymir had an arm wrapped around Christa, who was trying to shrug her off but failed.

 

I sighed and got to my feet just as Jean stepped forward, his eyes still staring into the flames. I glanced over at him as he clenched a fist.

 

"Hey guys," He began, turning to face the majority of us; his face had a dark look to it. "Do you know where you're going to enlist?"

 

We all exchanged glances before turning back to him as he continued. "Well, I do." He gritted his teeth, looking more determined than he's ever been before.

 

"I'm... Enlisting in the Survey Corps!"

 

We all stared at him, before exchanging more looks. I could see in their eyes how unsure they were about where they were going to enlist, but I knew, along with Seisko, that they were all going to join the Survey Corps as well.

 

* * *

 

 

The next morning had us all standing in front of tables with our gear placed in front of us. It seemed like a regular maintenance check, but it felt different, since we were all going to choose our regiments the same day. I stood next to Annie, our hands clasped behind our backs as we waited for further orders. I felt odd standing near her after what happened a few days ago, you know, me saving Marco and all. I know she wasn't there to witness it, but I knew without a doubt that Reiner probably shot his mouth off about it. She didn't seem to be hostile towards me, but no one ever knew her emotions, since she always had that resting bitch face.

 

Soldiers were walking amongst the aisles of cadets, inspecting our gear.

 

"So you can be punished for killing a Titan, too?" A random guy spoke from the same table I was standing at.

 

"As strange as it sounds, those were valuable specimens." Another said.

 

The same random guy turned his head. "Even so, why are they searching for the culprit amongst us recruits?"

 

_Oh._

 

So this was the part where Hange's Titans, Sonny and Beane, were killed and now they're inspecting our gear to see if any of us had done it.

 

"Yeah, everyone's exhausted from cleaning up the battlefield until today."

 

"The culprit must've really hated the Titans." Connie spoke from a nearby table and I turned to regard him.

 

"Yeah," Armin replied. "But in this case, they pretty much helped the Titans out. Their lust for revenge may have been sated, but mankind will suffer for it."

 

Connie eyes took on a lazy look. "I'm an idiot, so I think I get it. Before I saw a Titan, I seriously planned to enlist in the Survey Corps. But now, I'm not sure." He sighed. "Today's the day we have to decide too."

 

It got quiet for a while and I turned back to face my gear. I understood what he was saying. I'd have enlisted in the Survey Corps if the Titans didn't appear as deadly as they do now.

 

"Damn," Connie, who was standing next to Armin on the other side of Annie, spoke again. "Hey, Annie."

 

Armin and I turned our heads to glance again at Connie as he said, "What did you think? Jean of all people said he'd enlist in the Survey Corps."

 

Armin's eyes widened. "Huh? Jean did?"

 

 _Oh yeah_.

 

I forgot that Armin, Mikasa and Eren weren't there to witness Jean's proclamation. Too busy with that court thing, I guess.

 

"Nothing really." Annie spoke up, to my surprise. I thought she'd ignore him like she does everyone else. Most of the time, anyway.

 

"You're set on joining the Military Police Brigade, right?" Connie tipped his head to the side. "I should go there, too, shouldn't I?"

 

Annie was silent for a moment. "Say, if someone told you to die, would you?"

 

Connie scoffed. "What do you mean? Of course not."

 

Annie kept her eyes to the front. "Then why not decide for yourself?"

 

Annie sure was an inspirational person, if I do say so myself.

 

"Armin, how about you?" Annie asked.

 

Armin tilted his head down. "I think that if there's a legitimate reason, there might not be no other choice but to die." He sighed. "I wouldn't like it though."

 

"I see." Annie said. "So you've decided."

 

"Yeah." He spoke with such certainty. "I chose where I'd enlist a long time ago."

 

"Seriously? Armin, you too?" Connie seemed surprised. He should be. Little Armin should have stuck with the Garrison or became a farmer. Something different from just throwing yourself into the Survey Corps.

 

Connie then sighed dramatically, but it was Annie who spoke. "You're weak, but you _do_ have guts."

 

"Th-thanks." Armin said shyly. "Annie, you're actually pretty nice, huh?"

 

Pft, yeah. _Nice_ was an understatement.

 

"I mean," Armin corrected, "It seems like you don't want us to join the Survey Corps."

 

She turned her head to blink at him, a little bit of surprise on her face as Armin continued. "Is there a reason why you want to join the Military Police Brigade though."

 

She turned her attention back to the front. "Not really." She paused before continuing, her eyes taking a softer look. "I just want...to save myself."

 

 _Huh_. I could understand that feeling, but I had somewhat of a job to do, which was to protect-save- as many people as possible until the end.

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

It was about late afternoon-evening and everyone was scattered in groups around a courtyard. Basically we were all just hanging out until something happened. There was supposed to be a recruitment assembly today, but we didn't know when it was supposed to start. They were taking their sweet time....

 

I stood against a wall with Annie, Armin, Sasha, and Connie, who was crouched down, as Jean, Marco and Seisko approached.

 

"Jean!"

 

"Marco?"

 

"Are you two sure about this?"

 

I could understand their concerns. Jean and Marco were so set on joining the Military Police, that seeing them now after Jean's exclamation about joining the Survey Corps was still surreal.

 

"Yeah," Jean replied. "We're sure." Marco nodding his agreement.

 

"Why the change of heart?" Sasha asked. "I mean, aren't you scared?"

 

"What?" Jean snorted. "Of course we're scared of joining the Survey Corps."

 

_Who wouldn't be?_

 

"Th-then why would you?" Connie said.

 

"It's not at all because I'm not scared of the Titans." Jean put a hand on his hip. " I'm not thinking, 'Those with skills should join the Survey Corps,' either." He then clenched his jaw. "I'm different from that reckless idiot."

 

"Eren, huh?" Connie looked down. "He's already in the Survey Corps, isn't he?"

 

The chat was interrupted by one of the soldiers, who was calling for everyone's attention. "Recruits, file in! Line up before the stage!"

 

I leaned off the wall as Jean continued as if nothing had just interrupted him. "You know, I'm not putting my life on the line because I was persuaded to."

 

Reiner, Bertholdt, Christa and Ymir joined our little group, watching Jean as he continued. "At the very least, this isn't a decision someone else can make for me." He turned around and stalked off towards the stage, Marco giving us a sad smile before following after him.

 

Seisko came up to me, looking a little uncertain. "You ready for this?" She asked me as Connie stood up.

 

I simply shrugged, unsure of this myself as we made our way to the stage.

 

* * *

 

 

It got dark as we all lined up beside each other, murmuring quietly to each other until the lone figure on the stage cleared his throat. I looked up and couldn't stop the weird excited smile that adorned my face.

 

Erwin Smith!

 

The one and only **Commander Erwin Smith**!

 

Seisko grabbed onto my pinkie finger, squeezing it in excitement. In our real bodies, she did that all the time, subconsciously, which I never seemed to mind as I held onto her as well.

 

"I'm Erwin Smith, the Commander of the Survey Corps." He began, his deep voice loud and clear. "Today, you'll decide where you'll enlist. And to be blunt, I'm here to recruit soldiers for the Survey Corps. I'm sure the latest Titan attack has made you fear the Titans and recognize the limits of your strength. However, through that battle, mankind has made unprecedented progress in its struggle. The key was Eren Jaeger."

 

His eyes scanned amongst the cadets. "His willingness to risk his life for mankind signifies his unquestionable allegiance to us. Furthermore, not only did he allow us to stop the Titans, he also provided us a way to unveil the titans mistery!"

 

Audible gasps echoed amongst the cadets. I side-eyed where Reiner and Bertholdt were standing; they didn't seem shocked at all. _Those dirty bastards._

 

I turned back towards Erwin, who had an intense look on his face. _Did his eyebrows get bigger or_ \- "In the basement of his home in Shiganshina District lies the secret of the titans unknown even to him. If we can just reach that basement, we might find a clue that will aid us in overthrowing the Titan's century-long rule!"

 

More gasps and whispers flowed through the crowd. I glanced at the duo again and noticed Bertholdt's mouth gaping, looking more worried than surprised.

 

Reiner didn't seem fazed by this news, but he did whisper. "His basement?"

 

"We're that far ahead?"

 

"If we figure them out, we could win."

 

Murmurs of somewhat excitement and relief circled the crowd.

 

Seisko turned to me. "It won't be as easy as they think."

 

"Yeah, it's gonna take a while to actually be able to get anywhere near his basement." I spoke, a hand coming up to tap my chin.

 

As people continued to whisper to each other, Erwin glanced out into the crowd. He looked suspiciously like he was trying to search for someone. I continued to stare at him until his eyes met mine and I immediately looked away, my heart seemed to palpitate in my chest. I squeezed Seisko's hand and she nudged me with her elbow.

 

"You trying to break my hand?" She joked, but then her voice got serious. "Maybe we should tell Erwin about our 'ability'."

 

That, I could agree to. It seemed like he would listen to us or at least test us to see if we were telling the truth. He seemed easier to talk to anyway.

 

Erwin's voice quieted the whispers. "We aim to reach that basement in Shiganshina District. But to that end, the recapture of Wall Maria is crucial. In other words, our goal hasn't changed."

 

A girl walked out onto the stage with a rolled up scroll in her arms, with a very tall man joined her. As they reached Erwin's side, I knew who they were: Petra Ral and Mike Zacharius. I felt even more excited as they unraveled the scroll to show a map. It was kinda funny to see Petra try to level the map out, but with Mike being so tall, it was nothing short of a failure.

 

"But now that Trost District's gate is unusable," Erwin continued, "we'll have to go around from Karanese District in the east." He indicated this with a point towards the map, where an X showed where Trost District's gate couldn't be accessed and an arrow pointing through what must be Karanese District. He turned back to face us. "The military route we spent four years to prepare has been rendered useless."

 

Rip.

 

"During those four years, we lost more than sixty percent of our men."

 

Thanks for letting everyone know that there's a 80% chance that we'll all die.

 

"Sixty percent in four years..."

 

Oh, four years. I guess that makes it better.

 

"It's an absurd figure."

 

Haha, yeah it is.

 

"Those of you who join us will participate in an expedition a month from now in which the predicted mortality rate is thirty percent."

 

That sounds much better, Mr. Smith.

 

"Most of you will likely die in four years."

 

God dammit, Erwin. You just scared off the majority of this crowd.

 

"However, if you manage to survive, you'll be an elite soldier who can overcome all odds." Erwin paused, seeming to take a deep breath. "If you are still willing to endanger you lives with us, remain here."

 

I could feel everyone tensing. It's like our Fight or Flight senses had been triggered just by his speech.

 

"Please, ask yourselves. Are you capable of offering your lives for mankind?!"

 

It was like everyone had become a statue. The silence almost scared me. No one dared to even breath.

 

"That is all. Those of you who wish to enlist elsewhere may leave."

 

We all glanced at each other unsure of what to do as another man stepped out onto the stage.

 

"Commander, don't you think you went too far?" He said. "You might've scared them all off."

 

You don't say.

 

And that's when cadets began to turn around, some even whispering about how foolish they'd be to enlist in a suicidal regiment. As they began to leave I turned to watch them leave, my palms getting sweaty. I spotted Annie leaving without a second thought, Bertholdt watching her leave with such a broken look that I turned away to see who else would leave. Marco and Jean shared a frightened look, but to my surprise, Marco smiled and stayed where he was. Jean looked just as surprised, but stood there as well, glancing at the ground. Connie and Sasha looked as if they might start crying if they already hadn't. Mikasa and Armin looked beyond determined; I bet they wanted to stick with Eren, so of course they'd stay. Christa started to shiver violently, but stayed where she was, Ymir standing closer to her. Reiner had a hard look on his face, staring straight ahead. I could see that Bertholdt was shivering but he stayed beside Reiner.

 

I could feel my legs begging me to turn around as dark thoughts swarmed my mind. _Why was I still standing here? Did I really want to do this? Could I really save everyone like I did to Marco? Maybe I got lucky with Marco. I don't know!_

 

I let go of Seisko's hand and she looked as if I had just stabbed her in the heart, eyes wide and full of hurt as she understood why I let go. Her gaze then turned dark and she stalked past me and towards Jean, who greeted her with glance. Marco said something to her, but she just shook her head, her attention focused more on Jean, her crush. There was no way she was ever going to leave him. Marco then turned to search for me, his eyes looking sad and shocked as he spotted me.

 

_Was I really going to turn tail on them? Was I really going to leave Marco here to possibly die later after all I went through to make sure he survived?_

 

No.

 

I stayed put.

 

I clasped my hands behind my back and waited.

 

I kept my eyes on a spot on the far wall.

 

My chest felt like a thousand needles had pierced it.

 

I felt like I wasn't even in this body anymore, floating around like a weightless soul.

 

It got quiet.

 

"Could you," Erwin began, but I kept my eyes planted firmly on that one spot, "die if given the order to?"

 

"We don't want to die!" A voice called out.

 

"I see." I could sense the smile on his lips. "I like your expressions."

 

Really? Well, mine is a mixture of darkness, despair, and maybe suicidal thoughts. I bet you've seen that expression a thousand times already though.

 

Now then, I accept all of you that remain as new Survey Corps soldiers!" He announced. "This will be a true salute! Offer your lives!"

 

We all slammed our fists to our chest and back.

 

"Sir!"

 

I took the chance to look around, my chest and mind still dark and full of pain and misery.

 

"Everyone." Armin smiled.

 

"This is the worst," Jean whined. "Damn the Survey Corps..." Seisko and Marco both nudged him and gave him quieting looks.

 

"I'm scared." Sasha shakily said. "I want to go back home."

 

"I don't care anymore." Connie looked smaller than before.

 

"If you're gonna cry about it, you should've left." Ymir spoke, looking at Christa. I had a feeling she was talking towards everyone though.

 

Reiner and Bertholdt remained silent.

 

"You've all done well to suppress your fear. Every one of you is a brave soldier."

 

 _You're only saying that because we're kids and the only ones who bothered to stay here and join your dumb regiment_ , my fifteen year old mind thought. I knew he meant well, though.

 

"You have my deepest respect."

 

* * *

 

 

The next morning, we were all standing in a line outside a castle like structure, horses snorting in front of us as a man stood next to one.

 

"Salute!"

 

We all saluted.

 

"I'm Squad Leader Ness." The man, Ness, spoke. "And this is my favorite horse, Shallot." He patted it softly. "She likes chewing hair, so watch out if you don't want to go bald. Nice to meet you." As he turned his head, Shallot leaned forward and grabbed at his handkerchief wrapped around his head. "W-Wai-"

 

Shallot began to chew on it like it was hair. "Wait, you idiot! Stop, Shallot! Hey, wai-. Someone stop her! Hey!" But no one moved.

 

I couldn't stop the laugh bubbling in my chest as I realized that we were pretty much just going to watch this horse eat his head like hay, Seisko joining me. I nudged the person next to me, laughing too hard to see who it was. I looked over and Marco's face was red; it seemed he was trying not to laugh out of respect, but he was failing. Seisko had gotten Jean laughing, and before you know it, Sasha and Connie had joined in as well.  

 

The training that began the next day consisted mainly of studying the long distance scouting formation that Commander Erwin devised, rather than field training. Strangely enough, despite its detailed nature, Eren Jaeger's position was nowhere to be seen.

 

"You recruits will be here, between the wagon escort squad and scout support squad." Ness pointed at a board that had the formation scrawled all over it. "You'll be moving with the spare horses and relaying communications."

 

We all wrote down these notes as he spoke, all  of us sitting in desks like it was a college classroom.

 

Class ended and we all got a chance to eat. As we ate, I glanced over at Marco.

 

"Hey, Marco," I called out to him as he looked up. "I'm surprised you wanted to join the Survey Corps. I was sure you'd join the MP."

 

Marco smiled sheepishly. "Well, I changed my mind."

 

"You're just saying that because you wanted to be with Jean." Seisko snorted, Ymir snorting as well.

 

"It's not like that!" The freckled king- boy, I mean- said.

 

I came to his defense. "Ha, and you wanted to be with him just has much as he did." I retorted at Seisko, who mockingly flung a pea in my direction, blushing.

 

"You almost left me back at the assembly." She pouted.

 

I looked down at my plate, that was empty of course; that class was kinda boring since I already knew most of what's going to happen so I was starving. "Yeah, I'm surprised I'm here, too."

 

"Where would you have gone?" My eyes shot over to Reiner as he spoke. "You wouldn't have been able to get into the MP since you didn't make the Top Ten."

 

Rub it in my face why don't you.

 

"I would have gone to Garrison." I tapped a finger on the table. Reiner didn't say anything else, only drinking from his cup.

 

The room got unusually quiet, only for the sounds of clanking utensils against the plates.

 

* * *

 

The sun was sinking below the horizon, painting the area in an orange haze as we made our way to the barracks, only to be stopped by Eren, who came out of nowhere.

 

"Hey, Mikasa, Armin!" He shouted excitedly.

 

The two turned around, and at the sound or Eren's voice, the rest of the group turned as well.

 

"Eren?" Mikasa looked deathly happen to see him, her hands coming up like she wanted to hug him.

 

I was a bit far away so I didn't really hear the rest of the conversation, but Jean led the group to go meet him as well.

 

"Oh, hey, Eren!"

 

"It's been awhile!"

 

Eren looked up to see us, a smile on his face which we all returned. "Oh wow! You're all here? But.." His face fell. "Are you guys here because... Don't tell me, you enlisted?"

 

"Why else would we be here?" Connie smiled brightly.

 

"Then," Eren went on, "The only ones who picked the Military Police Brigade are Jean, Annie, and Marco?"

 

Jean stepped up behind Eren and he turned around, eyes widening at the sight of Jean and Marco. "You're kidding! You too?!"

 

Marco smiled sheepishly, again, scratching at his freckles with a finger. "Yeah."

 

Jean just glared at Eren. It's not like anyone inspired me to join or anything."

 

I snorted, Seisko bumping me with a hand.

 

"Hey, recruits, gather up!" A voice called.

 

We all turned to see Ness standing there with another soldier beside him. "Your uniforms are here!"

 

We all gathered to grab the cape, flipping it around our shoulders. I glanced at Seisko, sharing a smile with her.

 

Yeah.

 

We were true Survey Corps members starting today.

 

* * *

 

 

"You guys are really...." Eren asked as we all just hung out in one of the supply rooms.

 

"Yes, we'll be participating in the expedition as well." Jean answered. "Hey, Eren." He suddenly spoke. "I heard that, as a Titan, you tried to kill Mikasa. Mind explaining yourself?"

 

The room suddenly got cold.

 

"That's wrong." Mikasa spoke first as Eren's eyes widened in shock. "Eren was trying to kill a fly-"

 

"I didn't ask you." Jean growled.

 

_Ouch._

 

Everyone looked shocked at that as Jean pointed two fingers at his cheek. "Say, Mikasa. That wound on your cheek seems pretty deep." She put a hand up to hide it. "Where did you get it?" Jean prompted.

 

No one spoke for a moment until Eren looked down. "I think it's true." He said. "In my Titan form, I tried to kill Mikasa."

 

"So you don't really remember it, huh?" Jean took one step forward. "In other words, you weren't aware you had that power until now, and you lack the means to control it."

 

Marco leaned forward. "Jean..."

 

Seisko put a hand to her chest, looking worried.

 

I simply watched the scene play out like it was a movie, waiting intensely for the next part.

 

"Yeah, that's right." Eren clenched a fist.

 

Jean stared at him a moment before sighing and turning to the rest of us like he had just concluded and interrogation. "Hear that, guys? That's the situation we're in. Our lives and mankind are in his hands. We'll probably die without Eren ever knowing."

 

Mikasa snapped her head up. "Jean, why are you driving Eren into a corner like this?"

 

Jean stayed facing us. "You know, Mikasa..." He turned his head to face her, his tone overly dark. "Not everyone can blindly die for Eren like you, without anything in return." He turned his body back to her as he clenched her jaw. "We have the right to know... what exactly we're risking our lives for. Otherwise, we'll waver at the moment of truth. We expect something out of Eren. Let us know what to expect. And whether it's worth our lives."

 

He paused before rushing forward to grab Eren on the shoulders. "So, Eren!" The poor boy looked so shocked. "We're seriously counting on you, okay?"

 

Eren eye's were as round as the moon's. "Yeah...."

 

* * *

 

 

A month had finally passed as the bells ran above the gate.

 

Today, the expedition would begin.

 

I sat atop a horse that I had personally named Lenni. He was a big, friendly brute. I think he's a flirt, too. He's always hanging around us girls whenever we practiced riding. I adjusted myself for the twentieth time to which Seisko snapped a "Sit still!", much to my annoyance.

 

"We've lured away all nearby Titans!" A voice shouted out. "Thirty seconds until the gate is open!"

 

I felt my heart thump against my chest, tightly gripping the reins, as those around me began to fidget; the horses switching from hoof to hoof, sensing our anticipation.

 

"It's time!"

 

I squared my shoulders.

 

A man turned around to face us. "In mere moments, mankind will advance once again. Show us what you're made of!"

 

Everyone raised a fist or sword to the sky, shouting.

 

"Open the gate!" The gate began to rise slowly.

 

All was silent as it finished opening. Then suddenly....

 

"Forward!" Erwin shouted as he shot off, his white horse taking off with practiced ease.

 

Lenni reared and my heart jumped, fearing I would fall, but he took off at a good pace, staying in formation as Seisko galloped beside me. The wind was blowing my hair into my face, but hopefully, once outside the walls, it wouldn't be much of a problem.

 

"We now begin the 57th expedition!" Erwin continued. "Advance!"

 

The horses seemed to gallop even faster as we finally exited the walls.

 

This was it.

 

This was the expedition to start the **real** story.


	8. Outside

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go. Episode 17, from my OC's perspective.

 

It was like seeing a whole new planet for the first time.

 

The sky was already turning a pale orange as evening set in. The air felt so fresh against my face as I rode Lenni through columns of broken houses, pieces of the houses slowly fell to the ground as the wind jostled them. I enjoyed the sensation of riding through the clear wind, my eyes closed only for a moment.

 

"Looks like we already got Titans approaching." Seisko said quietly as I re-opened my eyes.

 

We weren't close enough to see who went to attack it, but I did see snippets of Titan skin through the breaks in the rows of houses, letting me know it was there. As we rode past the mini battle scene I bit my lip slightly; my excitement from moments ago flowing off of me much like the wind in my hair.  A voice called out, saying to keep going forward and to not break formation.

 

A man riding to my left leaned over. "Let the support team handle it. Once past the Old City, it'll be just us and the Titans."

 

I glanced at Seisko and she had the same look of concern as was on my own. Soon, we exited the Old City and the formation began. I felt my chest grow tight; Seisko and I weren't put in the same group. She met my eyes and we were silent for a moment before she winked.

 

"Don't get eaten, ok?" She joked. "It'd be a shame to do this all by myself."

 

I smiled shakily back at her. "Yeah. A damn shame."

 

She then nodded and split from my side, her horse leading her to Mikasa's group. She was quite lucky, considering I was stuck with Armin. It was funny, really; being put in situations that went quite well with the story line since the Female Titan would chase Armin first. I just had to figure out a way to speak to her without her swinging me around like a ball on a string.

 

I stayed about one hundred paces behind Armin, who turned around to nod in my direction. I nodded back, noticing how jumpy he was, considering he wasn't alone. A group of crows burst from the top of a tree and he nearly slide from the saddle, eliciting a snort from me as we rode on. Lenni huffed and I patted his neck. He must have gone on tons of expeditions. Must have seen tons of people die, maybe even his own rider. Poor horse; he probably needed a vacation or retirement. As I began to feel like this wouldn't be so bad, a red flare shot into the air. I remember Ness saying something about how the Recon Squad would be the first to spot the Titans. When they did, a red flare would have to be shot. Anyone who sees the flare should fire their own to relay the signal. When and if the Commander sees it, he'll fire a green smoke flare and show the formation where to go. Seems easy enough to follow since that'll mean the formation can reach the goal without meeting any Titans. Sometimes, though, a Titan can appear within the formation, thanks to the obstacles and terrain hiding it from view. Now, if there were to be a black smoke round, that'd be an abnormal. Red flares only work on common Titans. I followed Armin's gaze as I spotted the black flare. Something must be wrong, or we've just got an abnormal. As we watched the mini forest, two horses shot out, a Titan close behind. The riders seemed to look as if they were going to engage it, since it didn't seem to notice them. Thankfully, it looked like they got it as it fell to the ground. I spurred my horse to reach Armin's side, smiling.

 

"Squad Leader Ness did it!" The blonde boy smiled at me.

 

I nodded. "He wasn't made squad leader for nothing."

 

We felt some sort of relief. Maybe this really wasn't so bad.

 

Then we saw it.

 

 _The Female Titan_ , I thought as Armin quickly shot another black flare, his face a mask of horror as it sped towards us.

 

"What's that?" He whimpered. "It's too fast!"

 

We watched as Ness and another guy -Sys- moved in to fight it, but just as Sys was going for it's nape, it grabbed him, crushing him in its palm. Ness sprang after him, also going for its nape, but his cables were grabbed by the Female Titan. We watched in pure terror as she swung him down, smashing him against the ground, pieces of him flying in all directions. We continued to stare as she stopped, her face hidden by her blonde hair. She then leaned forward and began to run again. Armin swung his horse around and I followed suit.

 

"No...no." He spoke softly; I had to ride close to hear him. "That's no aberrant. It's intelligent! Like the Armored or Colossal Titans, or Eren.. A human in the body of a Titan!" He paused. "But who?"

 

I wanted so badly to tell him what's really going on, watching as he let go of his spare horse, yelling at it to go. But just as I opened my mouth, the Female Titan was already upon us, her foot raised as if to crush us beneath it.

 

"Armin! Move!" I shouted, using my horse to knock him and his horse over just as her foot came down.

 

Both our horses rolled onto the ground, us following right after them. I rolled a good distance away from Armin, grunting painfully as I came to an abrupt stop against what I assume was the trunk of a tree. I sat up slowly, trying to stop the dizziness creeping around the edges of my vision. Lenni neighed as he trotted back over to me, huffing as he sniffed me. I gently moved his muzzle out of the way as I spotted Female Titan crouched over Armin's bent over body. I watched as She pulled back his hood and stared at him. Her lips twisted up in some sort of grimace and a smile combined before standing up. She looked over in my direction and I felt my body freeze over a thousand times as she walked towards me. Lenni grew agitated, nudging me roughly as if to get me the hell out of there. But I stayed where I was, standing up. I looked down briefly to dust myself off and when I looked up, she was staring down at me, the same crooked smile on her lips.

 

She knew that I knew who she was. I didn't know if she'd just end my life right here, so that I won't tell anyone, but to my surprise, she turned away and began to head back towards wherever she was headed. As she took off, I forced my legs to get back onto Lenni's back and rode towards Armin.

 

"Are you ok?" I asked as I pulled Lenni to a stop.

 

He just stared straight ahead and said. "It's not going to kill me? Why?" He began to shake. "It removed my hood to... to look at my face?"

 

"Armin! Kashmir!"

 

We both turned to regard Reiner as he approached with an extra horse. It looked like Armin's horse or maybe another he'd been pulling along.

 

"Reiner!" Armin called out.

 

Reiner pulled the horses around. "Hey, can you stand? You won't last outside the walls unless you're on horseback...Hurry!"

 

Armin nodded. "Right!" He pulled himself onto the horse.

 

Reiner then turned to me. "You ok?"

 

Surprised, since I thought he'd ignore me, I nodded. "Yeah."

 

He then nodded. "Let's go."

 

As we began to ride after it, Reiner spoke. "I saw a black smoke signal for an aberrant. Was it that one there with the nice ass?" I wanted to kick him as he smirked.

 

Armin seemed to ignore that other comment. "That's no Aberrant.. It's a human in a Titan body!"

 

 _Wow. Good thinking, Armin! You want a cookie?,_ I thought, but I knew they all didn't know what me and Seisko did.

 

"What was that?" Reiner questioned.

 

"Wait a second," Armin looked like he had some sort of theory. "We need to fire a smoke round first. There's an emergency over there."

 

As me and Reiner watched him shakily hook a flare to his flare gun, a flare sounded behind us. We turned to see Jean holding his gun up as he raced to our sides.

 

"Wait... I think Jean fired it." Reiner remarked as Jean- _where was Marco?_ -approached. "Those flares.. came from our right flank."

 

"Does that mean we're so compromised, we can't continue the mission?" Armin fretted. 

 

"Looks like the right flank recon squad was partially wiped out.." Jean said as he rode alongside us. "Titans, ton of them."

 

"Damn," I gritted my teeth together.

 

"I don't know why," Jean continued. "But there are lots of fast ones. For now, we're holding them back, but recon is no longer possible..." He then sighed. "We've taken heavy losses, and if we aren't careful, we'll be destroyed!"

 

Armin looked serious. "That Titan came from the same direction. No way.." He realized and spoke what I was thinking. "Was it leading the Titans?"

 

"It?" Jean asked. "Why is a Titan over there? An Aberrant?" He then wondered as he finally looked over at it.

 

"Armin thinks it's a human in a Titan body." I spoke up for the first time in a while since we've been riding.

 

Armin nodded. "Someone with the same ability as Eren."

 

Jean looked incredulous. "What?"

 

" Why do you think that, Armin?" Reiner looked awfully like he already knew, just asking to ask. I caught his eye as Armin began to explain, Reiner frowning heavily at me as I turned away.

 

"The Titans only kill us," Armin started. "We're just killed in the process. Killing us isn't even specifically their goal. But when Sys aimed for its weak spot, it crushed him and smashed him into the ground. It killed him to kill, rather than to eat him. Its nature is different from the others. When the Colossal and Armored Titans destroyed the walls, it must've been the one that brought that army of Titans."

 

I looked over at Reiner again and he looked uneasy. _Yeah, Armin is closer to your true intentions than you thought, big guy._

 

"Their goal has consistently been to attack all humanity!" Armin finished, then paused. "No, maybe not." He started again. "It felt like it was looking for someone..."

 

I spoke up before he could finish, staring straight ahead towards the Female Titan. "If that's the case, it could be looking for Eren."

 

The three stared at me, shocked, or in Reiner's case, trying to look shocked. I turned to face them as we rode. "It searched Armin's face, but didn't kill him. Only running away. It seems like whoever this Titan may be, it knows who you are."

 

Armin eyes, if they could have gotten wider than they already were, shone in the evening light. "Eren's with Squad Levi, which is in charge of the right flank."

 

"The right flank?" Jean questioned. "The plans I got had them to the rear of the left flank."

 

"Mine said they were near the front of the right..." Armin replied.

 

I could understand why their location is random. What if one of the soldiers turned rogue on us? They'd know the exact location of Eren if it was that easy.

 

"Wait, there'd be no reason for them to be on the front lines." Armin finished.

 

"So where are they?" Reiner asked.

 

"Probably the safest place in the formation." Armin replied.

 

"The center." I breathed out, giving Reiner a knowing look which he casually ignored.

 

"And toward the rear.." Armin finished for me.

 

"Armin!" Jean grumbled out. "There's no time to think. Some rounds can't possibly indicate how much of a threat it poses! At this rate, it'll wipe out command. Then the formation will fall apart, and that'll be the end."

 

"What are you trying to say?" Reiner shot back.

 

"In other words," Jean continued. "at this range, we may still be able to draw its attention. We may be able to buy time to withdraw. Maybe..." He looked down. "Maybe..."

 

"But it really is intelligent." Armin reasoned.

 

I spoke up before he could finish. If we were going to do something, we need to do it now. "Listen, Yes, it's intelligent, but if we don't at least try to stop it, this expedition is as good as done." _Even though it already is._ "Let's put on our hoods, so it won't know who we are, that way it will hesitate to hurt us and we might be able to stop it in its tracks."

 

Yeah. I just stole Armin's idea, but they were talking so much and taking so long to decide on what to do, I just _had_ to say something. Armin nodded and flipped his hood on, the rest of us following as we sped up to get closer.

 

We broke off to try and flank it, Reiner and Armin go to its right while Jean and I headed to its left. The titan was running slower than before, it must have no idea where it's going. Better for us to take it down, though I didn't want to harm her inside the titan. I was kinda friends with her a while ago, I didn't want to ruin that now..

 

Jean shot his anchor out to attach it to its heel, but just as it was about to hook on, the Female Titan jerked her head to regard us. She then lurched backwards, Jean's cables falling limply to the ground as she turned to face us. She swung her arm, blowing Jean's hood off with the force of the wind from her swing. She then quickly turned and smacked Armin's horse right off the ground, Armin flying and rolling on the ground. His gear came off in pieces, some probably broken. He lay still as Jean ran in his direction. I chased after her, Lenni whining as he tried to catch up. I saw Armin's horse go flying towards Reiner, making his horse stumble as if crashed to the ground.

 

I stopped Lenni as the Female Titan, yet again, kneeled over Armin, searching his face. Jean hooked his grapple right below her right shoulder blade and she swung back around to face him. As he flew close, he dodged each swing of her arms and fists. _Impressive._

 

As he swung around to reach her nape, she pulled an arm up to protect it. Just as it looked like she might kill him, Armin began to yell about avenging someone who rushed to his death on the right flank, stopping her in her tracks. Jean let go and landed a few paces away. As Armin seemed to distract the Titan, Reiner flew off his horse and anchored right on her shoulder, going for her nape. I watched in growing anticipation as I knew what he was trying to do.

 

 _Sneaky bastard,_ I smirked, riding forward, as she snatched him up in her fist. She stared at him as Jean, Armin and I watched in stilled silence. She moved her thumb to place over his head and squeezed.

 

I watched the blood spray out of her hand; Jean backing away from where he stood, while Armin remained on the ground, gaping like a fish. Then, her fist exploded, her fingers sliced off as Reiner reappeared, blades broken, as he landed beside Armin, scooping him up like he weighted as a much as a small box. As they ran off, the Female Titan glanced at her hand. I knew Reiner had cut some kind of message into her palm. I wanted to follow her closely so that I may have a chance at saving Levi's Squad. Jean began to run away from where he was backing away, heading after the others. I stayed behind, waiting for her to get back up. My hood was still over my head, so of course she didn't know who I was yet. She finally got up and turned back the way we had come, ignoring all of us, now that she knew where to go. I watched Reiner, still carrying Armin, run off into the distance, Jean not far behind, as I raced after her, trying to stay a little far behind. I didn't want her to notice me just yet, my feet spurring Lenni onwards.

 

I knew I was going to be in some kind of trouble for chasing after her; probably even for ignoring orders and going to save Gunther, Eld, Petra and Oluo later on. But I didn't care. Hopefully Seisko would be nearby to help me once we reached the area where Erwin was going to trap the Female Titan. That way, we'd quickly re-supply and head after Eren and his protection squad.

 

Man, this was going to be one hell of an expedition.


	9. Giant Ass Trees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna go ahead and do a double-chapter thing. I'm bored and have plenty of time on my hands.

 

Lenni seemed to be getting tired after all that running around; he was planting his hooves harder into the ground and was huffing non-stop. If I didn't stop soon, he might keel over in exhaustion. But I couldn't let the Female Titan get too far ahead of me. I left Jean, Armin and Reiner behind and are probably wondering where I disappeared to.

 

"It's ok, Lenni." I patted the horse's neck. "Just a little while longer, I promise."

 

Lenni shook his head and seemed to feel lighter on his hooves for he sped up, much to my surprise. Thanks to that, we were getting closer to the Titan, which was getting closer to Eren. My back began to hurt from leaning forward since I was still trying to hide my face, so I leaned back, using this time to survey my surroundings. No other Titans appeared to be in the immediate vicinity, so I let myself relax. Suddenly, multiple green flares appeared. Looks like they're continuing the operation, just changing direction. Good, this should give me enough time to prepare myself for what's next. I had a flare gun resting in a pouch near the horse's neck and grabbed it. I began to think against shooting it off, because that would just give my position away. Maybe I could use it for something else, like a real gun? I put it back in its pouch and continued riding, keeping one eye on the Titan and the other on the area. I was hoping we'd reach Erwin's group before long, Lenni was getting real tired..

 

The Female Titan seemed to run forever and it began to feel like we weren't getting anywhere, when Black smoke signals erupted from the tree line ahead. The others must be seeing her now; we were finally getting closer. As the Female Titan entered an old village, a few soldiers appeared chasing after it. I slowed Lenni down, I wanted to look as if I couldn't catch up. I was following the Titan, not engaging it. As hard as it would be to explain it later, I needed the Female Titan to reach Eren if I was going to put my somewhat of a plan into action.

 

One man shot a flare into her face, which she dodged, though she stumbled on her feet. At least three people sprang from hidden areas and latched onto her. I turned my horse to hide behind one of the old houses. Thankfully, no one noticed me since I was farther behind the Titan. Lenni wheezed and I rubbed his mane as I stepped off my horse to peek around the corner. I watched as she grabbed onto one of the cables and jumped.

 

_She frickin' jumped!_

 

She then proceeded to stomp onto one of the soldiers. One soldier stumbled onto the ground, then jumped back up, only to be smashed through one of the old buildings. I felt my spirits fall and I took a stumbled step backwards into my horse as she began to walk away, swinging a cadet around like he was a God damn yoyo. I climbed back onto my horse as she let go of her victim. I spurred a rejuvenated Lenni onwards as she chased after a lone straggler as he tried to get away. The soldier turned his head to look in horror as she...

 

_She frickin' punted him across the field like a soccer ball!_

 

She stopped again and I took the chance to steer Lenni into a small wooded area. I was going to have to do a lot of hiding if I wanted to get closer without being seen by her or the others. I was also going to have to watch again as she killed more of my comrades.

 

Moments later and the field was dotted with splotches of blood, and body parts lay scattered. I covered my mouth with a hand. I thought it was terrible in the anime, but seeing it for myself was a whole other thing.

 

She took off again and I waited till she was a good distance away before leading Lenni after her. Lenni seemed to catch on that I didn't want to get too close, so he was pacing himself, so as to not exhaust himself again. I could see giant trees lining the horizon as I crested a small hill after the Female Titan. We were getting closer.. Good.

 

* * *

 

 

It seemed like forever, again, that she ran and I chased, but we soon entered the forest of big-ass trees. Next thing, a black flare shot into the sky, alerting anyone in the forest of the Titan's appearance. Suddenly, she picked up the pace, racing forward. I tried to glance at what she saw and spotted what I could only believe to be Eren, Levi and his squad right in front of her. My stomach began to hurt as I realized that I was a few moments closer to starting what I hoped would be some kind of rescue mission. I couldn't let her kill them, or take Eren, no matter how annoying he was to me.

 

The Female Titan sped up even faster, bearing down on the group ahead of me. I elbowed my equipment, noting that I still had full canisters of gas and my blades were ready to go. As she ran, soldiers from the rear attempted to attack her, only to become puddles of bloody body parts immediately after. I couldn't seem much in front of me, because of her giant body, but I could tell that Levi's squad was screaming at him to do something. Eren was probably deciding whether to shift into his Titan or not. I knew that there was a trap ahead that would capture her and when it did, I'd begin my chase after the Elite Squad.

 

Being in the woods must have made Lenni feel more at ease since it was typically just a straight away. So he sped up, though I tried to slow him down, which didn't work, mind you. I heard a flare gun go off from the group ahead of the Titan, and I pulled roughly on Lenni's reigns, thankfully slowing him down. I didn't see a colored flare, which confused me, so it must have been a blank or at least a sound flare. It didn't seem to faze the Female Titan though, she kept up her fast pace gaining slowly on the soldiers below.

 

People kept trying to stop her, but of course it didn't work. Lenni whinnied and I noticed that we were getting closer to where the others were. I turned Lenni away from the group and onto the wooded ahead next to the path. I didn't want to lose that group, but I also didn't want to be seen. I gave Lenni a nudge in the side with one foot.

 

"Alright, Lenni," I whispered to my horse. "We're gonna have to get closer to that group. We gotta keep them safe, ok?" I adjusted my hood, pushing it forward some more as to hide even more of my face as he huffed and raced onward.

 

I took a look back at the Female Titan and saw her bend down as to move faster down the path and closer to Eren. The female Titan extended a hand out as she bore down on them, but just as she did so, she must have spotted the trap, for she stopped. I felt a happy smile grace my face as I heard Erwin's deep voice.

 

"Fire!"

 

Spear-like anchors tore into the Female Titan's flesh and stuck themselves into the giant trees around her, though she quickly covered her nape with her hands as I sped past. There was no time to see what else was going on as Lenni flew through the woods, still heading after the group.

 

I turned to face the group, watching Levi leave them and head back to the capture Titan. I saw them beginning to slow down, Eld taking the lead. They rode a good distance away before stopping. I brought Lenni to a halt. I got off and patted Lenni on his hindquarters.

 

"Looks like this is where we part, good friend." I smiled softly. "I've got to go incognito in the giant trees."

 

Lenni turned his head and began to nibble at my hood. I laughed and pushed him away.

 

"You stay here and be good, ok?" I thought about tethering him to a small tree, but didn't bother. I had a better idea.

 

"Lenni," I held his face to look at me, my tone going serious. "If you hear me whistle for you, come find me."

 

Lenni neighed and stomped his foot, chewing on the reigns. I guess that meant a 'yes'. I patted him on the neck one last time before adjusting my hood, again, and flying off near the group but staying out of sight as I landed on one of the giant tree's branches. I peered around the trunk as far as I could without falling over, spotting the squad about a giant tree away. They were just hanging out on the lower roots. They seemed to be talking, but I obviously couldn't hear anything.

 

I decided that this would be a good opportunity to gather my wits before I began my 'mission'. I took a couple deep breaths to calm my heart but froze.

 

The Female Titan had let out a loud, raucous, roar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, this chappie may have seemed shorter than the earlier ones, but that's because the episode I watched was mostly riding through the woods and flashbacks. 
> 
> Next chapter will be all the more exciting.
> 
> ;) See you tomorrow.


	10. It Worked?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >:) 
> 
> I don't want my character to seem like a Mary Sue or OP, so I'll add just a bit of stuff to make it seem more realistic.

It surprised me at how good of a rider I was; realizing that I would have fallen off the horse many a time before getting here. I was only thinking about this now as I was still hiding behind the tree. I had gotten tired of leaning over to pretty much stalk them and was just listening to their voices. I still couldn't depict what they were saying, but I wasn't worried about that. I was simply waiting for when they would move.

 

 

Then, she roared.

 

The sound causing even the air around me to vibrate, my legs wobbling as I tilted over. I caught myself by grabbing the trunk of the tree, my heart beating so hard that I had to clench my chest, thinking I was going to have a heart attack. I noticed it got silent where Levi's squad stood and I took a chance to peer over. They were all staring wide-eyed in the direction the roar came from.

 

A little bit after that, blue flares began to appear near our position. I remember Ness saying that Blue meant retreat, but I knew I couldn't do that. I turned my attention back to the group as Gunther shouted loud and clear for me to hear.

 

 

"Back to the horses! Prepare to retreat!"

 

 

They began to adjust their gear, checking their gas and weapons before heading back to their horses. I knew Lenni wasn't tied to anything, so I was prepared to call him if anything changed. I flew a short distance behind them, making sure my hood was fully covering my face, my blades drawn. I had to get close if I was going to stop Her from decapitating Gunther. I tightened my grip on my blades, hoping and praying that they wouldn't see me, not yet anyways.

 

 

As they continued on, a green flare shot out from the side, alerting anyone close by that someone was in trouble. My heart was in my throat as I figured out what that meant. Gunther said something about it being a signal from Levi and shot off one of his own flares.

 

 

Right, lead her right to us, Gunther. It'd make it so much easier for you all to die, I thought as I gritted my teeth; I felt like I was going to saw each and every one of my teeth into dust if I kept gritting them like that.

 

 

I have to time this right! I kept repeating to myself. If I fucked this up now, I'd never get this chance again, unless I died, went back to my real body, and tried to warp here again; which was highly unlikely.

 

 

I sped up right when Gunther turned his head to regard something- or someone - flying nearby. I exerted my gas and launched myself in Gunther's direction, stomping on his back as the mysterious person attacked.

 

 

It was like everything had went in slow motion.

 

 

As I dragged the poor guy to the ground, I flipped myself to look into the face of the mysterious person. I knew who it was from the start, but seeing the look of shock in her blue eyes as I stopped her from committing a murder shook me to the core.

 

 

"Gunther!"

 

 

Eld's voice rang as Gunther and I rolled on the ground. I grunted and quickly sat up, searching for where she went. I got to my feet and rushed over to Gunther, who was holding his side, grunting. I grabbed his arm and pulled him along until he jerked out of my grip.

 

 

"Who the hell are you?!" He yelled.

 

 

I gulped. There was no time to talk or reveal myself, so I instead said, "No time to answer that. We've got to move! Now!" I figured she was going to turn around and strike again, as the others joined us.

 

 

"Gunther! Are you alright?" Petra and Eren were the first to reach his side.

 

 

Oluo and Eld checked to see if he was ok before regarding me. "Who're you?" Oluo growled out, the others readying their blades in my direction.

 

 

Ugh, this was going to be way too troublesome. "Look, I'll tell you when we back, if you're still alive that is." I replied, keeping my eyes on our surroundings. "She's going to come back-"

 

 

" 'She'?" Oluo said, looking more and more irritated. "Who the hell is this 'she'?"

 

 

"Will you just shut up and trust me?" Eh, I could have said that better, but we were running out of time.

 

 

"Why should we trust you?" Eld took a step forward. "We don't even know who you are, let alone see your face."

 

 

"Listen," I began to back away, waiting for the tell tale sounds of someone shifting. "She wants Eren, ok, and she's going to kill you all for him if you don't listen to me." I was beginning to plead. "We have to go now, we can't stay here." I turned around and shot my cables out, tilting my head to speak again. "I know you don't trust me right now, but we don't have time to bicker about it. She's gonna come back and she's gonna be tougher than before. Just give me a chance." With that, I flew off.

 

 

I turned my head in relief, seeing as they were actually following me, though they had some pretty dark looks on their faces. I couldn't help the smile spreading on my lips. I was going to keep them safe. I wasn't as strong as Mike or Levi, or even Mikasa, but I do have the power of intuition and that's a good point for me, I suppose. My smile dropped as I spotted Her coming back towards us and thought up something quick.

 

 

" We need to get out of her sights so you could put on your hoods!" I shouted, only loud enough for the group to hear. "That way, she won't know which one of us is Eren and we could possibly defeat her!" Yeah, I was using Armin's plan, again, but it worked the first time so it should work again. Right?

 

 

They exchanged looks between each other, probably wondering if they should trust such a crazy order, since they were supposed to be keeping Eren safe. Thankfully, they nodded and separated , Eren going with Oluo and Petra as they pulled their hoods up.

 

 

As soon as they did that, an explosion sounded right behind me and I twisted quickly to my right, getting out of her sights as the Female Titan appeared. She was running full force towards one of the split off groups. Unfortunately, she went straight for Eren's small group and I gaped. I had to come up with something quick or she'd catch him.

 

"We have to get Eren to shift into his Titan form." I told Eld and Gunther as I changed direction to head after her.

 

"What? No way!" Gunther said as he and Eld followed right behind me.

 

"I have a plan!" I replied. "If Eren could just transform, he could fight off the Female Titan, and if it fails..." I swallowed heavily.

 

"and if it fails?" Eld prompted me.

 

I took a deep breath. "We have to let her take Eren."

 

I could feel their horror and anger burning the back of my head as they silently followed, but I couldn't let them die like they did before. They'd _have_ to trust me.

 

I grabbed the flare gun that I had stuck on my hip before leaving Lenni and sped up. I was going to shoot this flare into her eyes, so that way I could tell the rest of them my plan without any hindrances. She was fast and I was beginning to think that I wouldn't have enough gas to finish this 'mission', but I had to stay positive. I finally was able to fly alongside her and hid the hand with the flare gun under my cloak until she looked at me.

 

I quickly pulled it out and fired, her eyes widening as the flare exploded into her eyes and she pulled to a stop, one hand over her nape. Now, that one objective was done, I called for the others.

 

"Let's stop real quick, I have a plan." Petra, Oluo , and Eren turned to me and began to head back in my direction.

 

I landed on top of some huge roots from one of the giant trees and waited for them all to follow suit. Once they were standing around me, I took my hood off, hoping my hair wasn't a total mess. Eren recognized me almost immediately, his green eyes full of confusion.

 

"Kashmir?!" He stepped over towards me and I forced a smile.

 

"Yeah, that's me.." I replied.

 

"Huh, Kashmir?" Oluo spoke, looking just as confused.

 

"Uh, she's a new recruit of the Survey Corps, just like the others." Eren explained, though he was still staring at me with those weird green eyes.

 

"What are you doing all the way out here?" Petra narrowed her eyes. "Didn't you see the signal to retreat?"

 

"Shouldn't you have been with the other recruits?" Oluo put a hand on his hip.

 

I shook my head, resting a hand on Eren's shoulder. "I don't have time to fill you in on that just yet, but I do need you to do something for me. Eren, I need you to transform."

 

Petra and Oluo instantly reacted.

 

"What the hell?"

 

"He's only supposed to use it when his life is in danger!"

 

"His life **is** in danger!" I felt irritation sparking my tongue. "The only way to fight that Female Titan is to counter it with our own shifter. That way, he can distract her while we circle around for the kill."

 

Eld then stepped forward with a quick glance at Gunther. "and if it fails, we have to let her take Eren."

 

Eren, Petra and Oluo erupted into furious questioning.

 

"Let her have him?!"

 

"Are you insane out of your mind, kid?!"

 

Eren looked at me. "You want her to... take me?"

 

Oluo shook his head. "There's no way I'm going through with that plan. It's too dangerous! Levi gave us the responsibility to protect Eren, not give him up."

 

"Look, if we do this plan and something goes wrong, you can put all the blame on me." I squared my shoulders. "But we have to try. I  truly believe that Levi and Mikasa are the only ones that can defeat her. Don't ask me how I know, but if we let the Female Titan take Eren, it'll allow those two to finish her off, since she'll be exhausted after fighting Eren's Titan. You have to trust me!"

 

I heard footsteps thumping closer and we all turned around to see that the Female Titan thundering down upon us. I quickly looked at Eren, pleading with my eyes for him to use my plan. The others were watching as well, looking distressed. Eren gave me a determined look and I motioned for the others to get a good distance away. We flew onto the higher branches as Eren let the Female Titan get closer, so close that she had a hand outstretched to grab him, right when he bit his hand.

 

A bright yellow flash of lightning caused me to shield my eyes for just a second. I glanced down as smoke filled the area, the wind clearing it as Eren, now in his Titan form, faced the Female Titan with a loud roar. As he engaged her in battle, I turned to the others.

 

"Do any of you still have a flare? A black on in particular?" I had one, but I wanted to see if they had any left before using mine.

 

They shook their heads, Petra saying, "No, we left the rest with the horses. We didn't think we'd encounter her again like this.."

 

"It's fine," I nodded, pulling out my own black flare out of a pouch on my hip. "I had one of my own."

 

"Then why ask us if you had your own?" Oluo grumbled and I snorted, but ignored him. He's such a pain.

 

I covered one ear as I shot the flare. "There, that way, any retreating forces would come to our aid. Specifically speaking, Levi. I'm sure he'd come to his squad's aid." _Of course he will_.   

 

"So, now what do we do?" Gunther asked, his eyes following the Titans as they battled it out.

 

I contemplated the options in my head. We could try to join the fight, but I have a feeling we'd be killed by her or Eren. So the only thing I could think of would be to stay and watch, much to their dismay. "I think we should just kick back and watch the show until something happens."

 

It grew deathly silent around me, except for the sounds of Eren and the Female Titan sparring. I looked at the others; their expressions were a mixture of 'seriously?' and 'un-fucking-believable'. I wanted to laugh, but that would just be wrong.

 

"I thought you said the plan was for Eren to distract the Titan while we 'circle around for the kill'." Oluo said, mockingly trying to copy my voice in the last part.

 

I wanted to punch him but simply blinked and turned back to watch the fight. Eren had successfully kicked the Female Titan into one of the giant trees and was going to lunge at her until she quickly swooped underneath him. She then hit at his jaw with a crystallized fist, breaking it like I've seen before in the anime. and he threw a punch, but she dodged again and twisted, her back to him. She slowly turned around to face him and positioned herself like I've seen a certain someone do during training a while back. Her leg crystallized and she swung her kick so fast, I barely saw it. But I did see Eren's Titan head go flying into the air before thumping on the ground a good feet away.

 

Levi's squad was shocked into silence as they watched. I kept my eyes on her as she leaned over Eren's open nape and chewed him out of the nape, leaning her head back to adjust him in her mouth before taking off in a random direction. 

 

"Eren!" I turned at the sound of Mikasa's voice, she was quickly followed by Levi, who immediately took notice of us and headed our way.

 

 _Oh shit_. I could tell that he must be beyond pissed off as to why we were just sitting here watching it all happen like deer in headlights. My hood was down now so Mikasa would know who I was. They both stopped nearby.

 

"Eren..." Mikasa held an arm out as if that would help her reach onto him. "W...Wait...Don't go..." She then ignored us and shot out after the Female Titan. I didn't want to be left behind to explain myself, so I left after her, trying to boost my gas to catch up to her.

 

"Give. Eren. Back!" She yelled as she began to slice at the Titan's body parts, anger fueling her. "Give him back!" She roared as she cut apart of the Titan's back legs, rendering her immobile. The Female Titan fell to the ground and Mikasa tried to get its nape, but her blades broke off and she spun away, landing against a tree to replenish her blades.

 

I stopped a tree away, watching the scene play out. There was no way I was going to get in between her and that Titan. It'd be best if I hung back while her and Levi did the job of rescuing Eren. I wonder how Levi's squad was fairing right now.. I bet Levi gave them an earful for listening to a kid like me.

 

Little do they about know my 'ability'..

 

Mikasa finished hooking her blades to her handles and was ready to attack again as the Female Titan got back up. Just as she was about to charge in again, Levi shot from no where, grabbing her around the waist, but still following the target. Levi's squad appeared behind me.

 

"Levi wants us to stay back," Petra said from beside me and I could understand that.

 

I basically made them look unreliable in front of their captain as they just stood beside me, watching the Titan take Eren.

 

"Sorry about that," I rubbed the back of my head. "I guess my plan backfired and got you all in trouble."

 

"You don't say," Oluo grumbled, mumbling some more to himself until Petra punched him in the arm.

 

"Don't worry yourself about it," Eld sighed. "Your plan did work, actually."

 

"It kept us alive, at least," Gunther nodded his head, but I could still feel the lecture Levi was going to give them later on.

 

* * *

 

 

We waited for a while; Eld looked like he wanted to ignore Levi's orders and lead the rest of us to attack as well, but of course he knew better than that. I sat down, feeling a wave of exhaustion creep up on me. All this flying, riding and thinking has put this small body out of commission and the sun has barely reached the horizon yet.

 

We stood - well, I sat - in silence as we waited patiently for their return. I suddenly leaned forward. I can't believe I actually pulled that 'mission' off! I saved Levi's squad! I must be a Goddess of some kind to have this sort of luck. I couldn't wait to boast to Seisko about all of this-

 

"You're gonna have a lot of explainin' to do when we get back," Oluo spoke up, breaking the silence.

 

_Oh, yeah. About that..._

 

The conversation didn't go any further as we spotted Levi and Mikasa returning, Eren in a gooey mess under Levi's arm. The two didn't stop to speak or even acknowledge us as they raced past, heading back to HQ. I rubbed the back of my head again and stood up, ready to follow. I tapped my gas canisters, frowning with a groan at how hollow they sounded. This wasn't good.

 

"Looks like you're almost out of gas," Gunther remarked as the others began to fly off.

 

"Unfortunately," I replied but then lifted my head up sharply, startling him. "That's right! I can just call Lenni! I didn't tie him to anything after all!" Gunther skeptically nodded.

 

"Ok, if you say so," He said, flying off as I put two fingers into my mouth and blew, the air whistling from my lips. I waited a bit before using what little gas I had left to propel myself onto what looked like a clear path.

 

I glanced around and whistled again, smiling as a horse's neigh could be heard a short distance away. I began to giggle like a happy school girl as Lenni raced up to me. He shoved his neck around me in a sort of hug which I returned.

 

"Lenni! Good boy!" I smiled brightly as he huffed, stomping a hoof. "You didn't get into any trouble did you?" He shook his mane as I hopped onto his back, racing after the others.

 

* * *

 

 

I smiled brightly as I spotted Seisko a few feet away from the Karanese gate. I pulled Lenni to a stop, my smile fading as I realized what she was doing there. Bodies lined the grass, covered by blankets as they were hoisted onto horse-drawn carts nearby. She looked solemn until she looked up spotting me. She smiled faintly and headed in my direction as I hopped of Lenni, leading over to her. I gave Lenni's reigns to a soldier that approached me and he led Lenni away towards some soldiers that were giving the other horses water.

 

"Hey," I said as I embraced her. She squeezed me before letting me go, holding my shoulders.

 

"Hey," she replied. She then spotted Levi's squad and sharply turned to stare at me, her mouth open in disbelief. "You actually did it?! I'm surprised you aren't one of these bodies along with them."

 

I breathed a sigh of relief. "It was actually hard, to be honest. I thought it'd never work either, but luck seems to be on our side ever since we got here."

 

She nodded, but before she could speak, a voice called us to help with the moving of the bodies. I wrinkled my nose, not ready to be doing cadaver duty.

 

Seisko snorted. "The only smell you'll get off of them is blood. They haven't decayed... Yet..." She led me over to where she was putting the bodies and I joined her in hoisting them into the carts. 

 

Not long after, we finally started to make our way back to Karanese, but a shot from a flare gun behind us surprised me. I turned my head and spotted two Titans chasing after two soldiers. Because I was in the rear with Levi's squad, I noticed one of the men had a body hanging on his back. He must have gone back to retrieve a body he'd seen on the ground. It didn't seem like Erwin was going to send anyone back there to help so I faced forward, worried for those two men. I looked back as soldiers beside me began to pull out their weapons. I noticed the two in the far back had engaged in battle with one of the Titans. The other ignored them and aimed for the rear. I watched waiting for something to happen; either the Titan would trip since he seemed to be running in this weird gait, or the soldiers would kill it.

 

Hopefully.

 

I watched as Mikasa left Eren's side and attacked the Titan fighting the two lone soldiers. One of them had already been eaten, the other had gotten grabbed, but she had cut its nape, releasing the lone soldier. The soldier seemed to look ok as he hopped back onto his horse, Mikasa leading the way back to the fleeing force. The soldiers a little father to my right were discussing how to fight it when Levi pulled up alongside them.

 

"Dump the bodies." He said.

 

I stared wide eyed, but I understood what he meant by that. Dump the bodies and the carts should move faster. It seemed extremely heartless, but if we didn't want more casualties, or the Titans to get too close to Karanese, we had to do a dark deed. Quickly, they began to dump body after body into the path of the Titan, the cart speeding up and leaving the Titan behind.

 

It took us another stopping to figure out where we were. I wanted to get back inside the walls as quickly as possible, but it looked like even the older soldiers had to pause to glance at a map. . .

 

 I was now holding the reigns of Lenni, walking him down the road like everyone else. I stood on my tiptoes as I followed in the back, trying to spot Marco, but I couldn't; too many horses and soldiers blocked my view. I hope he was ok...

 

Eren was laying down in the back of a cart, Mikasa by his side like a doting wife. _Bleh._ Levi's squad walked beside me; Levi had rode to the front to be with Erwin and the other squad leaders still alive. I heard the voices of the people as we walked. It was like a funeral line, with how slow we were moving.

 

"They're back already?"

 

"What happened?"

 

"I bet they brought nothing but dead bodies back again." If only they knew what we had done to get here quicker. My felt my face go dark with grief as I felt that the families of those 'MIA', as Erwin called it, were going to take this return badly.

 

I looked down, my feet dragging. They don't understand how hard it is for the Survey Corps, always saying such downgrading things when we're keeping them alive by risking our lives like that. _Scumbags_.. I couldn't blame them. If I was in their position, I'd feel as angry as they looked. I ignored them the rest of the way back to HQ, though I did notice Petra brighten up at the sight of her father speaking to Levi, her face flushing. Oluo tilted his head, probably mumbling about how Petra was all blushy for Levi and why she couldn't be a good wife for him. Poor guy.. 

 

Now that we had failed in this mission, it looked as if hell was still going to break loose on the Survey Corps. I knew we wouldn't be disbanded and that Eren would stay with us, but things have changed since me and Seisko have been here. I had agreed with Seisko that we would tell Erwin about our 'ability' once we made it back to the barracks and everything had settled down. I still had to explain why I did what I did anyway. Hopefully, he would believe us.

 

Hopefully, the luck I thought we had would stay with us.

 


End file.
